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YSU presidential search committee restricted to trustees
By Denise Dick
Youngstown
Only Youngstown State University trustees will serve on the search committee for the university’s ninth president.
Dr. Sudershan Garg, trustees chairman, said people from across campus and the community expressed interest in serving on the committee.
But the board thought if everyone was included, the committee would be too large — so it was better to keep it just to trustees: nine members and two student members, all of whom are appointed by the governor.
“In the interest of time, expedience and money, only the board will serve on the committee,” Garg said at a trustees meeting Wednesday.
The university’s academic senate last week made a recommendation to the board that the committee include a faculty representative from each college, an undergraduate student and a graduate student.
Randy Dunn, appointed YSU’s eighth president last July, announced last month that he accepted the presidency at Southern Illinois University. After an amendment to his contract with YSU, his last day in office will be March 21.
The advertisement for Dunn’s replacement began running this week in education publications.
“Over the past decade, YSU has broadened and diversified its programs and services, strengthened its enrollment and fundraising and expanded its partnership role with the city of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley region,” reads the ad posted March 11 in The Chronicle of Higher Education. “Building on this solid foundation, the next decade promises to be filled with new opportunities to enhance its undergraduate programs, to build and expand graduate programs, to further develop its role in research and development, to strengthen its global partnerships and to play new leadership roles in the education and economic lives of its community and region.”
Trustees hope to fill the post by this summer, and the application deadline is April 14.
Garg said trustees hope to have finalists visit campus in May, and constituents will be able to provide input regarding those candidates at that time.
The campus visits will mirror those conducted last year, when finalists met with groups on campus in open forums.
The board also passed a resolution appointing Ikram Khawaja, provost and vice president for academic affairs, the interim president, effective March 22. Khawaja, with YSU since 1968, plans to retire June 30, and Garg said the board hopes to have a new president in place by July 1.
“Dr. Khawaja is a seasoned soldier at YSU, and the board is confident he’ll do an excellent job,” Garg said.
Dunn thanked trustees for their “kindness and graciousness” with the way his separation agreement was handled. Dunn said the state of the university will continue to be strong, but added that it may have to undergo some refining or reinventing of its operating model.