May 9, 2008

Statement from Daniel C. Tomson to the University at Albany Campus Community

As we finish the semester, I'd like to take this opportunity to update you and the campus community on the ongoing search process to select the next President for the University at Albany.

Throughout its tenure, the Search Committee has worked vigorously to identify and recruit Presidential candidates of excellence.  Our standards and scrutiny have been appropriately high and rigorous.  We've engaged in extensive review and outreach to develop as deep a candidate pool as possible.  We have met extensively on the phone and in person, often on one if not two weekend days.   We've interviewed a significant number of candidates, in certain instances twice to assess their suitability and viability.

While the Committee's energy and commitment has been one of constant resolve, our search has been complicated by several extraordinary challenges, including: a respected, but still interim Chancellor, the resignation of Governor Spitzer and a budget environment that poses extraordinary challenges for Public Higher Education.

Notwithstanding these challenges, we have received a broad based and sincere interest from candidates seeking to be the next President of the University at Albany. However, at this juncture, while we have candidates for consideration, the pool does not meet the quantitative and qualitative criteria required to present to the Campus. After careful deliberation and with the support of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Carl Hayden, the Committee has unanimously decided that it would be best to continue and resume in earnest the search after a new Chancellor has been selected. We agree with Chairman Hayden that having a Chancellor in place is vital to our process. A world-class Chancellor will provide stable and dynamic leadership for SUNY. Perhaps more importantly for us, the new Chancellor will be a magnet for recruiting excellent Presidential candidates to our campus.

In the meantime, and as the search continues, George Philip will continue his extraordinary service as Interim President. I'd like to thank the search committee for their dedication and devotion on this extremely important mission and thank the faculty, administration and staff at the University for their patience and understanding through this process. We will continue to keep the campus community updated on our progress. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Daniel C. Tomson
Chair, Presidential Search Committee