Open forums ‘encouraged’ for administrative posts; Officials say more feedback resulted from confidentiality
Central Michigan University’s campus community did not have a chance to meet Dr. Ernest Yoder at an open forum before he was hired March 16 as dean of the College of Medicine.
The appointment left some around campus scratching their heads, but officials say the action was not a violation of protocol. At CMU, there is no rule stating the search committee has to hold forums.
“Open forums are not a requirement, but they are encouraged,” said Cali Clark, director of employment and compensation for Human Resources.
Chris Ingersoll, chairman of the search committee for the College of Medicine dean and dean of the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions, said not having an open forum for Yoder made the appointment similar to other dean searches. It also made it easier recruit a broad pool of candidates, he said.
Candidates are likely more willing to apply if they know their names will not be released, Ingersoll said.
“I think that’s the concern that candidates may have,” he said. “I think after we did the first three (final candidates), we received feedback.”
According to policies on Human Resources’ Web site for senior officer search and selection procedures, confidentiality is extremely important until the finalists are identified and come to campus to meet with representative members of the university community. This is necessary to not jeopardize current employment and to attract high quality candidates, according to the Web site.
It also states the search committee chair shall release the names of finalists to the campus community prior to on-campus interviews.
CMU officials spoke with several candidates in various forms, including a private phase, Ingersoll said.
Cam Enarson, College of Medicine interim dean, declined the position of founding dean Jan. 19.
The other two finalists, Bonita Stanton, pediatrician-in-chief of Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, and Russell Joffee, former dean of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, withdrew their names in December before coming to campus for scheduled forms.
A unique process
Western Michigan University recently launched a search for the founding dean of its developing medical school.
Jack Luderer, chairman of the search committee and executive director of the Biosciences Research and Commercialization Center at WMU, said not holding presentations is a classic way to perform the search.
It becomes difficult not only because colleges of medicine are different, but because they are new, Luderer said.
“This quite frankly is a different beast,” he said. “We need to keep options open. We may do some public forums, but we are not locking ourselves into that box.”
Although there may not be any forums, Luderer said he anticipates leaders of the university will be highly involved.
This is common in the corporate world, he said.
