Spring Break
Meticulously choosing a president
Selection process involves SJSU, CSU representatives
Kate Taylor
Issue date: 4/30/08 Section: News
The SJSU presidential search has been narrowed to three candidates, one of whom the California State University chancellor and board of trustees will choose for the job during the week of May 12.
The search began in January with advertisements in education trade journals, said Gerry Selter, SJSU executive assistant to the president.
"A lot of it was done by word of mouth," he said.
Selter said an advisory committee was chosen late last year and met in March with the trustees committee to review applications.
The advisory committee comprises the Academic Senate chair, Associated Students president and representatives from the faculty, staff, alumni and community, he said.
Teresa Ruiz, public affairs specialist for the chancellor's office, said the members of the trustees committee are Chancellor Charles Reed, trustees Ken Fong and Glen Toney, Chair of the Board Roberta Achtenberg and William Hauck, who chairs the trustees committee.
All trustees are appointed by the governor, Selter said.
"(The advisory and trustee committees) chose maybe about a dozen people who were invited to an interview with the committee (in Los Angeles)," Selter said.
Terry Christensen, a political science professor at SJSU, said he was on the last two committees, in 1994 when Robert Caret was chosen and again in 2004 when two failed searches led to Don Kassing's interim presidency.
"Three candidates came to campus and none was chosen - which shows you what can happen," Christensen said. "We did a second round of that search and that's (Paul Yu) accepted the job and came for six weeks and left, and then Kassing became the interim (president)."
The Academic Senate votes in some of the advisory committee members, but others are automatically on the committee depending on their titles, he said, adding that every member looks for different characteristics.
"Faculty look for somebody who cares about teaching, scholarship and understands what our job is like," Christensen said. "The alumni, some of them are looking for somebody who will support athletics. I think all of the alumni and the community people are concerned about the relations with the community in general. The trustees and the chancellor are looking for good managers who won't cause problems for them, but who will make this place successful."
Christensen said all committee members usually agree to choose a candidate who is a "real leader" and who can relate to all constituencies.
"It's hard to find somebody like that," he said.
Benjamin Henderson, president of Associated Students, said his role on the advisory committee was to represent the students.
He said he looked for candidates who had "a vision of where they want the campus to be," were student-oriented and who understood the university in terms of partnerships between the community, faculty, administration and students.
All three candidates are scheduled to visit the campus next Tuesday through Thursday, Selter said.
"(The candidates) will be interviewed by quite a cross section of administration, faculty, students, staff, the public … and so forth," he said.
Christensen said the campus visits were important because the committee needs to know what others think of the presidential hopefuls.
"The last search: that failed. It failed because of the campus reaction," he said. "The campus didn't react positively to any of the three (candidates). That proves that campus opinion matters on these things."
After the campus visits, the candidates meet with the board of trustees, and the trustees committee makes the final selection.
"It's going to be hard to see President Kassing leave," Henderson said, "but I'm hoping that we'll get a really good president."
Click here to read more about the president search and to read profiles of the candidates.
The search began in January with advertisements in education trade journals, said Gerry Selter, SJSU executive assistant to the president.
"A lot of it was done by word of mouth," he said.
Selter said an advisory committee was chosen late last year and met in March with the trustees committee to review applications.
The advisory committee comprises the Academic Senate chair, Associated Students president and representatives from the faculty, staff, alumni and community, he said.
Teresa Ruiz, public affairs specialist for the chancellor's office, said the members of the trustees committee are Chancellor Charles Reed, trustees Ken Fong and Glen Toney, Chair of the Board Roberta Achtenberg and William Hauck, who chairs the trustees committee.
All trustees are appointed by the governor, Selter said.
"(The advisory and trustee committees) chose maybe about a dozen people who were invited to an interview with the committee (in Los Angeles)," Selter said.
Terry Christensen, a political science professor at SJSU, said he was on the last two committees, in 1994 when Robert Caret was chosen and again in 2004 when two failed searches led to Don Kassing's interim presidency.
"Three candidates came to campus and none was chosen - which shows you what can happen," Christensen said. "We did a second round of that search and that's (Paul Yu) accepted the job and came for six weeks and left, and then Kassing became the interim (president)."
The Academic Senate votes in some of the advisory committee members, but others are automatically on the committee depending on their titles, he said, adding that every member looks for different characteristics.
"Faculty look for somebody who cares about teaching, scholarship and understands what our job is like," Christensen said. "The alumni, some of them are looking for somebody who will support athletics. I think all of the alumni and the community people are concerned about the relations with the community in general. The trustees and the chancellor are looking for good managers who won't cause problems for them, but who will make this place successful."
Christensen said all committee members usually agree to choose a candidate who is a "real leader" and who can relate to all constituencies.
"It's hard to find somebody like that," he said.
Benjamin Henderson, president of Associated Students, said his role on the advisory committee was to represent the students.
He said he looked for candidates who had "a vision of where they want the campus to be," were student-oriented and who understood the university in terms of partnerships between the community, faculty, administration and students.
All three candidates are scheduled to visit the campus next Tuesday through Thursday, Selter said.
"(The candidates) will be interviewed by quite a cross section of administration, faculty, students, staff, the public … and so forth," he said.
Christensen said the campus visits were important because the committee needs to know what others think of the presidential hopefuls.
"The last search: that failed. It failed because of the campus reaction," he said. "The campus didn't react positively to any of the three (candidates). That proves that campus opinion matters on these things."
After the campus visits, the candidates meet with the board of trustees, and the trustees committee makes the final selection.
"It's going to be hard to see President Kassing leave," Henderson said, "but I'm hoping that we'll get a really good president."
Click here to read more about the president search and to read profiles of the candidates.
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