Finalists for CMU VP of communications announced; open forums to be held next week

Three finalists for the associate vice president of university communications have been announced and will hold open forums next week to discuss their ideas for Central Michigan University.

Lori Bauer, former chief marketing and communications officer at Arcadia University in Pennsylvania; Jan Bond, director of communications and marketing at Ashland University in Ohio; and Sherry Knight, CMUs current interim vice president of communications, will hold forums from 1 to 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14 in the Lake St. Clair Room in the UC and Nov. 16 in Park Library Auditorium, respectively.

Maria Marron, chairwoman of the search committee and journalism department chairwoman, announced via a news release that each candidate will undergo a series of interviews in addition to the open forums.

The position was vacated in May, when former Associate Vice President of University Communications Renee Walker resigned following a turbulent year in university communications. Under her leadership, inaccurate information regarding a $10 million university investment toward the “privately funded” Events Center, as well as an inaccurate report of amounts paid toward the cmich.edu website redesign were made public.

Shortly after Walker’s resignation, Knight was named interim of the position and signed a contract for $1,500 per day of work in Mount Pleasant.

Knight told Central Michigan Life in May she would use openness and integrity to move the university forward.

“CMU needs to be top of the mind across the state among students, parents and alumni,” she said in May. “We need to have strong, consistent communications to achieve it.”

An official date to announce who is chosen for the position has not been decided.

All candidates were unable to be reached for comment.