Presidential search has officially commenced
Szathmáry still has more to achieve: Danakas
JENELLE PETRINCHUK STAFF
Time is wearing thin at the University of Manitoba for president and vice-chancellor Emöke Szathmáry, whose second and final term will be coming to an end in a little more than a year.
The beginning of her departure was marked in November 2006 when a presidential search committee was approved by the Board of Governors, a committee that will take on the important task of recommending a qualified candidate to replace Szathmáry as the 11th president of the U of M, beginning in July 2008.
Chair of the committee Terry Sargeant, who is also chair of the Board of Governors, said he believes it will be a successful committee, with “a very good membership.”
The process for the search is the same that has been used in past years, according to U of M spokesperson John Danakas.
As early as September last year, the Management Resources and Compensation Committee (MRCC) had proposed the terms of reference and composition for the search committee as well as approving and issuing an RFP (request for proposal) for a search consultant.
The resulting terms of reference now include empowering the search committee with responsibilities such as recruiting qualified individuals for the position, receiving nominations, and analyzing and interviewing candidates.
In November 2007, the search committee will present its final selection to the board.
Although confidentiality is important for the search, Sargeant explained that the committee will report regularly to the Board of Governors. “Certain steps, some of the initial steps will be public,” he said, adding that there will be opportunities for the public to voice opinions on the search.
“We will just sort of have an open house and students, faculty, even offcampus people if they wish, can come and just have their input into our process, tell us what characteristics they think we should be looking for as well as what particular qualifications.”
Sargeant added that although the future president doesn’t have to already be a part of the U of M community, “it’s almost 99.9 per cent likely it will be somebody in academia with a fairly extensive academic background.”
Szathmáry, who graduated with a BA and PhD in anthropology from the University of Toronto, has worked as an assistant professor at Trent University, a professor and later provost and vice-president (academic) at McMaster University and held the position of dean of the faculty of social science at the University of Western Ontario.
The committee is composed of 17 members, three of which are non-voting: Jeff Leclerc, the university secretary and secretary of the committee, and Janet Wright and Gerri Woodford, both search consultants working for Janet Wright and Associates Inc., a Toronto-based search consultant company.
The company helped postsecondary institutions fill 13 positions in 2006, including the president and vice-chancellor of the University of British Columbia, the vice-president (research and innovation) at Ryerson University, and the dean of the faculty of arts for both the University of Waterloo and McGill University.
Although the cost of the two search consultants is not currently available for public consumption, Danakas said it was budgeted for in advance and “is very much in line with the process and cost for the search for a president.”
The student representatives on the committee are Samuel Ima (a graduate studies representative to senate) and Rachel Gotthilf, vice-president (external) for UMSU. Although it was not required that a member from UMSU sit on the search committee, Gotthilf was elected by the Board of Governors.
“I’m looking to bring a student perspective to the search committee and I’m working with other members with the committee to do an effective search for our next university president,” she said.
UMSU president Garry Sran was unsuccessful at being elected for the student representative position by the senate.
As for Szathmáry’s current stance on the future change, Danakas said it’s still too early to make any statements on the issue.
“There’s still plenty of time left and plenty to do, and in fact we wouldn’t want to undermine the time left by starting to talk about what comes next,” he said.
“There is still a lot right in front of us and a lot that the president wants to achieve and will be able to achieve.”
Szathmary has held the position of president and vice-chancellor at the U of M since 1996 and among other important feats has implemented the University 1 program, sat on numerous committees and boards of all levels, and was a stauch critic of Maclean’s magazine’s annual university rankings issue.
Short-listed candidates will be interviewed in late September and October of this year, according to the committee’s preliminary timeline, while a recommendation must be presented by Oct. 30, 2007.
In November 2007, a year after the search committee was approved, the decision will be announced by the Board of Governors, and the new president and vice-chancellor of the University of Manitoba will assume office on July 1, 2008.
