From: University Senate-Notices Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2011 12:14 PM To: 'votingfac-l@listserv.albany.edu' Subject: Call for Nominations for the Presidential Search Committee The message below is being sent on behalf of University Senate Chair Susanna Fessler. Colleagues, As you know, President Philip has announced his intention to retire from the UA presidency once a new president is in place. The search process for the next president is now underway, under the guidance of the University Council. I write to you today on behalf of the Senate Executive Committee to put forth a call for nominations for the Presidential Search Committee. Background and Process: The SUNY Board of Trustees Guidelines call on faculty governance to elect 6 members of the *teaching faculty* to serve as representatives to the Presidential Search Committee. They specify that the teaching faculty shall elect its representatives "by secret ballot at an open session of the faculty governance group, at which a quorum of the teaching faculty are present." At Albany, the University Senate is the faculty governance group. The quorum of teaching faculty senators required at such a Senate meeting is 50% plus 1, or 20. All nominees who meet the requirements will be placed on the ballot. The teaching faculty members of the University Senate will then elect representatives to the search committee. Nominations must be submitted by noon, January 20, 2012 to Professor Susanna Fessler, 2011-2012 University Senate Chair at sfessler@albany.edu with a copy to Gail Cameron at gcameron@albany.edu. The election will take place at the Senate meeting on Monday, February 6, 2012 at 2:45 in the Campus Center, Assembly Hall. Requirements for Nominees: Nominees must agree (a) to attend all meetings of the search committee; (b) to participate in all candidate interviews, including those held off-campus, probably in New York City, and (c) to maintain strict confidentiality concerning candidates in the search process. In addition, the Executive Committee requests that to ensure independence and avoid undue burden on junior teaching faculty, all nominees be tenured, i.e. either Associate or Full Professors. Mr. Daniel Tomson, Vice Chair of the University Council, which will direct the search process, has directed that the search committee must be diverse both individually and in terms of academic programs. To comply with this directive, if the top vote recipients do not constitute a diverse group of faculty, the senate executive committee will, if necessary, substitute from the next highest vote recipients on the ballot. The tentative timeline is as follows: 1. February: IN PERSON Kick-off meeting, Chancellor's message to the committee, introduction of search consultant and explanation of the process (1.5 hours) 2. February (same day as kick-off meeting); IN PERSON meeting with search consultant to inform him/her about U Albany (45 mins) 3. March: CONFERENCE CALL update meeting with search consultant (45 mins) 4. April: IN PERSON meeting where all applicants are discussed and candidates are chosen for interviews (3 hours) 5. April: IN PERSON meeting OVER TWO DAYS for off-site candidate interviews (2 FULL DAYS) 6. May: IN PERSON meeting for follow-up candidate interviews (1 FULL DAY) 7. May: IN PERSON final meeting of the committee to choose 3 finalist candidates (3 hours) Please note that, should the process run into the summer months, committee members will still be obligated to attend all meetings. Before you nominate someone other than yourself to stand for possible election to the Presidential Search Committee, be certain that you discuss the Requirements for Nominees, and when you convey your nomination, please indicate, in addition to the nominee's NAME, RANK, and DEPARTMENT, that you have discussed the requirements with the nominee and that the nominee is willing to abide by the requirements and is also willing to serve if elected. Susanna Fessler University Senate Chair 2011-12 Susanna Fessler Professor East Asian Studies Department Humanities 210 University at Albany, State University of New York Albany, NY 12222 Phone: (518) 442-4119 Fax: (518) 442-4118 E-mail: fessler@albany.edu http://www.albany.edu/eas/fessler.shtml