Applications for YSU president due March 15

By March 15, Youngstown State University’s presidential search committee should have an idea about who’s interested in becoming the next university president.

A post advertising the position began running last week in education publications. The application deadline is March 15.

Dr. Sudershan Garg, chairman of the YSU trustees, said the search firm, AGB Search Inc. of Washington, D.C., will screen the initial applicants and present the committee with 40 to 50 candidates the firm believes match the job description.

“We could have a pool of traditional as well as nontraditional candidates,” Garg said. “We have not closed the door for anyone.”

He considers traditional candidates those with higher-education experience while nontraditional candidates are those “who have never worked at a university before, they come from the private sector.”

Because of the economy, more nontraditional prospects may be interested and available for the post, Garg said.

“We need someone who can really look at the finances of the university and run it like a business,” he said.

The chairman said he wasn’t speaking of a particular individual and doesn’t have a candidate in mind for the job.

“It will all depend on the application pool,” Garg said.

The committee will narrow the 40 to 50 candidates presented by the search firm to eight to 10 who will be interviewed. Between three and five of those individuals will be invited to campus and forums with the university at large and with the community before trustees make a selection.