“The president has to decide what to do in the near future. The committee is kind of scattered for the summer, so I don’t think the search will continue until fall,” said Wayne Osborn, search committee chair.

The position, vacated at the end of June by Richard Davenport, includes the vice president of academic affairs.

A search committee selected five final candidates, who visited campus to attend open forums over the past month, but Rao rejected them all.

Provost search costs

Fee to A.T. Kearney:
$50,000*

Interview costs:
$11,000

Expenses to A.T. Kearney:
$7,500

Advertising:
$2,000

*Fee will not be repeated to continue search

“There were lots of strengths of all the candidates, but there were some weaknesses, too. For example, one candidate who, in many ways, would have been right, but didn’t have much administrative experience. We didn’t have any evidence that he would be able to handle what we have here at CMU,” he said.

Rao said he met with the committee, and they decided that none of the candidates were right for the position.

There were many different reasons committee members gave for the decision.

Osborn, physics professor, said the decision was made to extend the search because the search committee could not reach an agreement on a candidate.

“We brought in five capable candidates, but there was no consensus in the committee. The president weighed the options and deemed none were a perfect fit,” he said.

The committee gave Rao a list of each candidates’ strengths and weaknesses, but was not supposed to make a recommendation about which one it preferred.

Dean of Students Bruce Roscoe said there was not enough time to find the perfect candidate, because Rao wanted the new provost to replace Davenport by the beginning of the fall term.

“We had an aggressive time frame, and we were unable to identify the right match for CMU. With a longer time frame, we’re confident we can find the right fit for CMU,” said Roscoe, committee member.

The search was conducted very quickly, in hopes to fill Davenport’s position when he left, Rao said.

“We were trying to do a search late in the spring. The spring time in academia is a busy time, and I’m sure there were many qualified people who weren’t looking for a new position,” he said.

“We had to take our chances and try to fill the job because Davenport was leaving and we knew it. There were some people who expressed some concerns at the Academic Senate meeting, and I stood up and promised that, if I wasn’t comfortable with the candidates, I wouldn’t chose, and I think I’ve kept that promise.”

Although not involved in the search process, Davenport spoke to the candidates about the position.

“I think the search committee worked very hard at identifying a good pool of candidates,” Davenport said.

“My role wasn’t one of evaluating the candidates. All the candidates were good and could have done the job, but the president was looking for someone to fit his leadership style. It was a matter of finding one that would be a good fit with the president’s leadership style, and only he can make that decision.”

The main reason is that no candidate really stood out, said Mike Silverthorn, Public Relations and Marketing executive director.

“The president has to feel comfortable with who he selects,” he said.

Some committee members agreed with Rao’s decision.

“It’s the proper thing to do. This is a very important position, and we need to find the person with the right qualifications,” said Michael Leto, Development and Alumni Relations vice president and search committee member.

Other committee members, including Ryan Fewins, Gaylord graduate student; Timothy Hartshorne, psychology chairman; Peter Orlik, broadcast and cinematic arts chairman; Shanthakumar Palaniswami, management chairman; René Shingles, physical education and sports assistant professor; Connie Watson, professional and career development director; Robert Kohrman, College of Science and Technology dean; and Maureen Eke, English associate professor, could not be reached for comment.

Rao said the search will continue in August, after people get back from vacations. He said he wants the same people to be on the committee, but some may not want to participate.

The university will continue to use the search firm, A.T. Kearney Executive Search, Silverthorn said. The university paid the firm a $50,000 fee to do the searches.

The fee will cover the extended search, he said.

Silverthorn said the search committee will include the same members, but Osborn said he doesn’t think that will happen.

“I don’t expect to be on the committee. It takes up a lot of time for the faculty involved, and I don’t think the president wants to tie up the same people again. We did our job, and it’s someone else’s turn.”