Former Bradley President Stephen Standifird resigned from his role effective June 15. Former Board of Trustees Chair Jonathan Michael has served as interim president since Standifird’s resignation, meaning Bradley has been without a permanent president for a semester.
The subsequent domino effect has caused several faculty to accept interim positions until the Presidential Committee fills the role. Board of Trustees members and Bradley faculty, staff and students make up the committee partnered with Russell Reynolds Associates, a recruiting agency.
Presidential Committee Co-Chairs Matt Vonachen and Kathi Holst spoke to The Scout on behalf of the search party regarding student expectations.
The ideal candidate
Michael serves on the committee by offering input, insight into the role and first-hand experience, which has made him a valuable non-voting committee member, according to Holst.
Vonachen said that while the university is fortunate to have Michael as interim president, he recently retired from his role as CEO at RLI Insurance.
“I’m not going to speak for Jon [Michael], but … he literally jumped from one day of retirement and one career to another,” Vonachen, Interim Board of Trustees Chair, said.
Since Michael will not be continuing his role in a permanent capacity, the search for Bradley’s next president continues.
“It’s our intent to have the new president in place for the fall semester and there is a timeline on the process the committee is working on,” Vonachen said.
Holst said the transition period from Michael to the new president will be dependent on the selected candidate’s experience and skill set.
“It will not just be a handoff, of course, and it’s very early in the process,” Holst said. “We are starting to see some candidate applications. More importantly, our search firm is reaching out to their entire network of candidates, and based on the position specification that we created, they are identifying candidates that they are reaching out to encourage them to make applications for this particular position.”
The interview process
According to Holst, round one of the interview process will begin in January with no set number of candidates moving on to the second round.
Round two applications will be processed following the first round of interviews. Holst said the committee will again choose the most qualified candidates, with in-person interviews taking place shortly after.
According to Holst, the Committee will also create lists of questions to ask candidates through both interview rounds, with the second round being based specifically on qualifications and experiences. They will also choose who will ask each question.
The committee will then identify which candidate they feel is best for Bradley. After the committee has chosen a candidate, the Board of Trustees “becomes available to them for their meetings as well,” according to Holst.
“We are committed to being extremely transparent while protecting the confidentiality of our potential candidates and we intend to do this expediently — we have a timeline, we are on track and we don’t expect that to get derailed because we’re all committed to it,” Holst said.
Vonachen echoed Holst’s sentiment and emphasized the importance of including the student body through Student Body President Adalia Yeung throughout the process.
“The Bradley Board of Trustees values and appreciates the students and having Adalia a part of the process hopefully signifies that,” Vonachen said.
Student involvement
Although Yeung is the only student on the Presidential Committee and a voting member, students were invited to participate in a presidential survey which informed the presidential prospectus.
The prospectus includes a detailed job description, required qualifications and characteristics potential candidates should possess.
“We spent a tremendous amount of time … formulating that job description to make sure we’re addressing all the current and future needs of Bradley,” Vonachen said. “Making sure that we get everybody’s thoughts and opinions as we prepare to go into this search.”
“The prospectus is very clear that one of the key attributes of the next president is transparency and communication,” Holst added. “It is extremely important to this committee and I will add that it is extremely important to the Board of Trustees.”
Past mistakes have made students like Michelle Delgado, a junior early childhood education major, weary of statements concerning potential communication improvements.
“I don’t feel too confident that it [the presidential committee] will [adhere to student concerns], as it has happened in the past where students will express their concerns, and still feel invisible, but we can only hope that, in this case, they listen to what the students have to say,” Delgado said.
Delgado feels better, however, knowing that Yeung is there to speak on behalf of all students.
“She got chosen to be student body president for a reason and I know she will be the voice of us, the students,” Delgado said. “I know she is looking for the same changes as we are, so I’ve got some trust in her.”
As the search continues, students are encouraged to email potential candidates to the recruiting firm.
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