Is Penn State’s presidential search coming to an end? Trustees will meet Thursday
Penn State administrators and the university’s board of trustees will hold a special meeting Thursday to consider a presidential appointment, the university announced in a news release.
The public meeting is at 11 a.m. in Deans Hall at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center and will be livestreamed at wpsu.psu.edu/trustees; the public can attend remotely or in person, where masks are required to be worn indoors.
Prior to the public meeting, the subcommittee on compensation will meet in executive session at 9 a.m. in room 206 and the board will meet in executive session at 9:30 a.m. in room 208 at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center, according to the release.
In a request for comment about the number of candidates that might be considered and information about the candidates, a Penn State spokesperson said no further information will be released until the meeting.
A press conference was scheduled for noon Thursday with the president-elect.
Penn State began the search for its nineteenth president when President Eric Barron announced that he will retire in June 2022, when his contract ends. Barron started his Penn State tenure in 2014.
In July, Penn State officially started the national search for its next president.
“We are seeking a collaborative leader with interdisciplinary perspective to continue to move the university’s teaching, research and public service mission forward,” board of trustees chairman Matt Schuyler said in a written statement in July. “The ideal candidate will be dedicated to supporting student success and faculty and staff achievement, while continuing to build on our commitment to access and affordability, elevating our research profile, and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion across our campus communities.”
But before that, Penn State and the board of trustees organized committees, set up surveys and solicited feedback from more than 14,000 students, faculty, alumni and community members on the qualities and qualifications they’re looking for in the next university president.
The committee took those suggestions and created a 29-page report that was used as the basis for a “leadership profile,” which outlined the “qualities, experiences, challenges and opportunities for successful candidates.”
That leadership profile guided the Presidential Recruitment and Selection Committee, a 19-member group co-chaired by trustees Mark Dambly and Julie Anna Potts. The group consisted of student, faculty and staff representatives. The global search firm Spencer Stuart assisted the committee.
This story was originally published December 8, 2021 at 10:59 AM.
