A day-long series of public forums Thursday brings Mississippi University for Women one step closer to choosing its new president.
The “campus listening sessions,” which began with input from local leaders at 7:30 a.m. and concluded with community feedback at 2:30 p.m., garnered an average of 40 to 50 attendees per session. Various stakeholder groups — including MUW administrators and department heads, faculty members, staff, alumni and students — were given the opportunity to discuss the qualities and qualifications they feel are most important in MUW”s next leader.
The commenters offered few surprises but a lot of good advice, said Dr. Hank Bounds, commissioner of higher education for the state of Mississippi.
The College Board, which is conducting the search through Parker Executive Search of Atlanta, believes soliciting such feedback early in the process allows them to build a basic template of the candidate who will be the best fit for the campus. Since the method was effected in 2008, two presidential searches have been conducted by the board — one at Jackson State and one at Alcorn State.
For The W, most speakers felt the best fit would be a president who has good people skills, appreciates the small-town collegiate atmosphere, is willing to take time to get to know students and wants to become part of the community at large.
While some said they would prefer the next president be a graduate of The W and a native Southerner, others said that wasn”t so important; the most important thing is finding the best candidate for the job.
More than a few expressed a desire to retain current Interim President Allegra Brigham for the full-time position, but that is forbidden by the College Board”s ethics rules.
Because of that, some alumnae have suggested the search committee seek someone with similar qualities to Brigham, said Mary Margaret Roberts, executive director of Alumni Relations at the college.
Earlier in the day, area business leaders praised Brigham — a graduate of MUW and former CEO and general manager of 4-County Electric Power Association — for her people skills, community relations and business acumen.
In today”s uncertain economic climate, with more and more industries flocking to Mississippi, Bounds said a president who is responsive to the business community and “can turn on a dime to meet workforce needs” is important.
Most of all, those who care about The W expressed a desire for a president who feels the same about the college.
“”The W is not an obligation; it”s an opportunity,”” said co-president of the Alumni Association Emily Myers, as she quoted senior education major Kimberly Knopp, who spoke earlier in the day.
“The next president has to be the biggest cheerleader,” Myers concluded.
With the listening sessions complete, the next stage in the process is for the search advisory committee to review all feedback and discuss candidate resumes, which are due by Sept. 2.
Using the public forums feedback to create a template of the ideal candidate, the SAC will then make a list of preferred candidates, inviting them to campus for interviews in the third week of October. The field will then be narrowed again to a smaller pool invited for second interviews, and then the best candidate will be selected and invited to campus for a final interview.
The College Board has said it hopes to have a new president in place by the end of the year.
Those who were not able to attend Thursday”s listening sessions will be able to read the minutes of the sessions, along with all comments made — with names deleted — on the state College Board”s website at mississippi.edu/ieo/muw_search.asp.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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