The months ahead will be a busy time for Lyndon State College as the Board of Trustees seeks out the college’s future president.
Last week, President Carol Moore announced her retirement, effective June 30.
“At this moment I needed to make this decision for myself and for my family,” said Moore. “My husband has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
“My parents are 91 and 93 respectively, this year has been a particularly hard year,” said Moore of the timing on her decision.
The Vermont State Colleges Board of Trustees will make the final decision on an interim president, as well as the next official president of LSC, with input from a search committee made up of board members, members of the community, faculty and staff, as well as a student.
Chancellor of the Vermont State College system Tim Donovan plans to suggest a possible interim candidate to the board during its June 2 meeting, scheduled to be held at Lyndon State.
“I have no clue who that might be,” he said during Tuesday’s faculty assembly meeting, asking the faculty for suggestions.
For the long-term presidential seat at LSC, the search will take longer and be nation-wide. Donovan said he would want to look for a candidate who is in the middle of his or her career, rather near the end, to ensure a longer stay at LSC.
“A search for a president is not the college’s search for its next president. It’s the board’s search for the college’s next president,” Donovan said of the search process.
According to Donovan, who was involved with a presidential search for the Vermont Technical College, the goal will be to schedule it so it will conclude by either the December or February Board of Trustees meetings. The search committee will recommend at least two candidates, and the board will then decide among them.
For the time being, Moore is still in charge of all promotional and tenure issues regarding faculty and staff. However, Donovan is now taking over ‘budget-impacting reductions’, as well as final budget approval. Because of the retirement announcement, the faculty federation approved moving reappointment decisions to May 2.
Before Donovan and Dean of Academic and Student Affairs Donna Dalton arrived at the faculty meeting, the faculty put together a list of characteristics they would like to see in an interim president, or whether there should even be one. One of the biggest debates was whether he or she should be involved in the current administration. Several faculty were opposed to a current administrator taking over because of his or her involvement in some of the issues at LSC.
“I think by bringing in someone new, we’re all going to start at the same place and we’re not going to have that history,” said education professor Ernie Broadwater. “I’d certainly look forward to bringing in a new person to help us through this.”
Professor Alexandre Strokanov of the social sciences department disagreed with that idea.
“If it divides us now, I don’t think we’ll win this as a faculty altogether,” he said. “These people [current administrators] know where the college is and where we’re moving.”
The faculty assembly voted to send a list of its requested characteristics to the Chancellor, including the interim not be a current administrator, however this does not mean the suggestions must be followed during the search.
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