September 28, 2005
Memorandum for: University Community

Subject: Search for Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

In the spring through college meetings and over the summer months through email and phone conversations, I have heard from many of you about the qualities of academic leadership you feel we should focus on as we begin the search for a new Provost. I appreciate very much your very thoughtful and helpful feedback. I found it most valuable in describing the type of candidates we hope to attract to our pool as I interviewed some of the national search firms who made proposals to assist us.

With this homework done, I am very pleased to announce that the Search Committee has been formed and is about to begin its work. We are very fortunate to have former Trustee William Giblin and Chancellor Professor Magali Carrera agree to serve as the Committee Co-Chairs. Both of these individuals have a history of service to the campus and an unwavering commitment to our mission that will inform their leadership of this committee. They will be assisted by Joyce LeBlanc from my office who will serve as the senior staff member to the Committee.

The members of the Committee include the following twenty-one faculty and staff members:

Magali Carrera, Professor, Art History	Donna Massano, Associate VC, CITS
Gary Davis, Professor, Mathematics	William Mitchell, Associate VC, Finance
Nancy Dluhy, Professor, Nursing	Richard Panofsky, Associate VC, Academic Affairs
Lisa Evaneski, Associate Dean of Students	John Rice, Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Kerry Fater, Professor, Adult and Child Nursing	David Rock, Professor, Education
Alex Fowler, Professor, Mechanical Engineering	Bal Ram Singh, Professor, Chemistry/Biochemistry
Avijit Gangopadhyay, Professor, Physics/SMAST	Elizabeth Winiarz, Librarian, Library
William Giblin, Former Trustee	Jeffrey Wolfman, VC, Institutional Advancement
Angappa Gunasekaran, Professor, Management	Janine Wong, Professor, Design
William Hogan, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences	Additional member to be recommended by the ESU
Catherine Houser, Professor, English

I believe this is a very strong group of individuals that understands the campus well, that recognizes how important this appointment is for us, and is willing to invest the time and energy to help us make the right choice. I am very confident in their ability to thoughtfully identify and consider all the criteria that will inform their recommendation of candidates to me. I am grateful to all of them for their willingness to make the commitment to this very important task.

To assist the Committee, I have selected the Washington-based Search group Academic Search. This group has done many major searches for academic positions and has a thirty-year track record of success. They understand the collegial nature of the academic search process and they are experts in handling all aspects of the recruitment and screening process. They feel confident that we can attract top candidates and they outline a time frame for the search that meets our needs to have a Provost named in the early spring. I would like there to be some overlap with Provost Esposito to allow for communication and continuity on major academic initiatives.

The entire community can assist the Search Committee by talking about the search and our campus growth and development among your colleagues, at professional meetings, and at intercampus visits. We need to attract the interest of those looking to serve in the Provost role and be able to sell this opportunity as one that allows someone to make a significant academic contribution. The days of just waiting for people to apply have long past. We have a recruitment task as well as a screening task to do. The search firm would also welcome your nomination of excellent candidates. At a later stage in the process, they will also need your active participation in various screening activities.

I have asked Brian Silver, Student Trustee and Brandon Lozeau, President of the Student Senate to assist in forming a Student Advisory Committee to the Search of 10 to 12 student members which will meet with all finalist candidates we bring to the campus and advise the Search Committee of students perspectives. In addition, we have asked five key external friends of the campus to take on a similar role in meeting with the finalists and advising me of their impressions and reactions. This group includes: Vice President for Academic Affairs at the system office, Marcie Williams; Chair James Karam; Chairman of the UMD Foundation, Gerry Mauretti; John Farrington, Vice President for Academic Programs and Dean at Woods Hole; Augustine Silveira, Alumnus and former Professor Emeritus at SUNY Oswego.

We will keep you informed about the progress of the work. Once again, thank you to all who have very constructively contributed to helping us move forward with this very important task.

Jean F. MacCormack
Chancellor