Boise residents will have a chance to meet the five finalists being considered for the University of Idaho's top job over the next month. A committee has been looking for a new president since Duane Nellis left to become the president of Texas Tech last March.
Each candidate will be in Idaho for about two days. They’ll spend a full day at the main campus in Moscow. Then each will get on a chartered plane and make a whirlwind tour of U of I extensions in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, and Boise, says Marilyn Whitney with Idaho’s State Board of Education.
“The search committee and the regents want to give each candidate a chance to visit some of the other campuses across the state and to meet with faculty, staff and community members in those locations as well,” Whitney says.
The first visit is Wednesday afternoon at the university's Boise campus, known as the Water Center. Those who attend the Boise meet-and-greet can ask the candidate questions and give the State Board of Education feedback on its website. The board oversees the university and has spots on the search committee.
The last two U of I presidents stayed on the job about four years each. Whitney says the search committee wants to find people who will stick around for a while.
“They’re certainly hearing the message that the numerous transitions and turnover at the presidential level has been disruptive to the university and to moving ahead with a strategic plan and a vision,” Whitney says.
Whitney would not go into specifics but she said during a previous round of candidate interviews, in which they narrowed 70 applicants down to five finalists, the committee asked each one questions about how long they would to stay. She says the finalists see leading the U of I as a capstone to their careers, not a stepping stone.
Here are the details for the Boise visits:
Idaho Water Center, Legacy Pointe Room, 322 E. Front St.
Donald L. Birx, Ph.D. Wednesday, October 9 - 5:30 p.m.
Jack McGillen Payne, Ph.D. Wednesday, October 16 - 5:30 p.m.
James L. Applegate, Ph.D. Wednesday, October 23 - 5:30 p.m.
Chuck Staben, Ph.D. Friday, October 25 - 5:30 p.m.
Laurie Stenberg Nichols, Ph.D. Wednesday, October 30 - 5:30 p.m.
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