General Counsel search yields three candidates
No legal matters will fall to the wayside when General Counsel Eileen Jennings retires in June, because the search for her replacement is in full swing.
Three candidates for the position have been selected to visit Central Michigan University throughout the month of March.
Each will have an open forum for students, faculty and staff to attend and ask questions regarding their credentials and goals for the position.
Leslie Myles-Sanders will visit CMU on March 3. The general counsel and director of planning for Delta College has served as an attorney at two Michigan-based law firms, and in various positions at Delta College and Henry Ford Community College.
William R. Collins' open forum will be held on March 17. As a member of Currie Kendall PLC in Midland since 1979, he specializes in education law, nonprofit institutions, healthcare, financial institutions and business. He has been the sole managing partner of Currie Kendall since 2005.
Manuel R. Rupe is the final candidate and will visit campus on March 23. Rupe has served as the associate university counsel at the University of Colorado Denver since 2006. Prior to his move to Denver, he worked at Ferris State University and as an associate attorney for a law firm in Kalamazoo.
All three candidates hold a master's and juris doctorate or Ph.D degree.
David Burdette, vice president for finance and administrative services, said he initiated the nationwide search when Jennings announced her retirement at the end of the 2008.
"I asked a variety of people across campus to form a search committee and go throughout the country to find the best highest education attorney we could find," Burdette said.
The search returned an initial list of about six people, who were interviewed off-campus approximately two weeks ago, according to Burdette.
That list was narrowed to the three finalists, whose names were released Tuesday evening.
Burdette said he and University President Michael Rao will meet with the candidates and base their final decision on the forums and interviews, where specific qualifications are important.
"Absolute impeccable integrity, that's number one," Burdette said. "(The person must be somebody who) knows education law, who is fair, who is firm and that can state their positions clearly. "
Burdette said the complexity of CMU makes finding someone well-versed in every area of expertise difficult, if not impossible.
However, someone with a general knowledge of issues, ranging from athletics to real estate to contracts, is vital.
"General counsel isn't what I would call a high profile position, yet the person in that job affects nearly every facet of university life," he said.
Burdette also cited major university projects as a draw for candidates.
"There is so many great things happening here right now, especially on the legal front," he said. "I don't think it's going to be difficult to find the right person to come to CMU."
Burdette said no time frame is set to name Jennings' successor.
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