Idaho State Board of Education spokesperson Mike Keckler said the Board hopes to name University of Idaho President Chuck Staben’s successor sometime during February or March of 2019.
The UI President Search Screening Committee, composed of 12 members, is currently searching for candidates to fill the role of president for UI, a position which the board hopes will be filled by July 2019.
It’s a position which has become known for its quick turnovers. The most recent half dozen candidates served terms of varying length, but the two just prior to Staben each served four years — which Staben’s tenure will eclipse come June 2019, when his contract expires.
The SBOE is searching for two presidents for two Idaho universities. President Staben from UI is on his way out and Boise State University President Bob Kustra retired and was replaced by interim president Martin Schimpf.
Besides the announcement of State Board member Emma Atchley as chair of the screening committee, there are no other announced hierarchies among committee members. Other members include: board member Don Soltman, ASUI President Nicole Skinner, UI alumni Linda Davidson, Assistant Vice President of Alumni Relations Kathy Barnard, Faculty Senate Chair Aaron Johnson, Coeur d’Alene Tribal Member Chris Meyer, UI faculty member Holly Wichman, Interim Center Executive Director Lee Ostrom, UI faculty member Sydney Freeman, UI alumni Stephen Parrott and UI alumni Holly Koole.
Keckler said names of potential screening committee members were collected from the institution, alumni networks and some by position. Keckler said there was a special focus on including Skinner, so she could provide a student voice on the committee. Johnson was also asked to serve on the committee due to his position in the institutional framework of the university.
After gathering the names of potential members, the names were presented to Atchley and Soltman, Keckler said. The members then made their selections for the committee after reaching out to potential members, he said.
Members of the committee were asked to sign a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement which restrict them from speaking about the search.
One stipulation laid out in the agreement states all committee members must keep the candidate pool confidential. The signees of the agreement also agreed to “maintain absolute confidentiality about all discussions of the Screening Committee, both during the search process and after its completion,” according to the agreement.
The committee’s responsibility now is to recommend their top five candidates to the Idaho State Board of Education. The committee’s charge statement lists December 17, 2018 as the date which it would recommend the top five candidates to the Idaho State Board of Education, but Keckler said the state board doesn’t anticipate the committee’s work to be done by that date.
Keckler said the screening committee will meet periodically over the next few months to discuss the pool of candidates they are considering for recommendations to the state board.
In the end, the state board will have complete authority over choosing the next president for the University of Idaho. Keckler said the goal for the state board is to name a new president by February or March.
Elizabeth Marshall can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @EJMarshall_.