First Screening Committee to Meet Aug. 19 in UW Presidential Search

The search for a new University of Wyoming president is progressing, as the committee involved in the initial stage of the search is scheduled to meet for the first time next week.

The first search committee -- composed of 14 people representing the Board of Trustees, students, faculty, staff, the UW Foundation and the public -- is scheduled to meet Wednesday, Aug. 19, at Old Main on the UW campus. The meeting is closed to the public, consistent with the board’s plan to keep the names of candidates confidential until the list of finalists is released.

The first committee is charged with helping launch the search, considering applications for the presidency and identifying a list of 10-15 candidates who warrant further consideration.

Its members are trustees Jeff Marsh, of Torrington (chair), Dave True, of Casper, Mike Massie, of Laramie, Michelle Sullivan, of Sheridan, and Mel Baldwin, of Afton; Associate Professor Deborah McGriff of the College of Education; Law Professor Jacquelyn Bridgeman, who has served as interim dean of the College of Law; Noah Hull, doctoral student in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; Susan Manown, who’s pursuing law and Master of Business Administration degrees at UW; Kelly Wiseman, staff assistant in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; Mark Gunnerson, control specialist in the UW Physical Plant; UW Foundation board member April Brimmer Kunz; Susan Stubson, of Casper; and John Turner, of Moose.

Also involved in the Aug. 19 discussion will be former trustee Brad Mead, of Jackson, designated by the Board of Trustees as the search recruiter, and representatives of Storbeck Pimentel, the consulting firm retained to assist with the search.

“We’re excited to get started,” Marsh says. “This is an excellent group of people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, and we’re prepared to do everything we can to ensure a deep and talented pool of candidates for the presidency.”

It is anticipated that 10-15 semifinalists would be identified by the first search committee. A second committee will interview those candidates and select three to five finalists to come to campus for public forums.

Members of the second committee are trustees Dave Bostrom, of Worland (chair), John McKinley, of Cheyenne, Dick Scarlett, of Jackson, John MacPherson, of Saratoga, and Wava Tully, of Lusk; Professor Cynthia Weinig of the departments of Botany and Molecular Biology, and the Program in Ecology; Professor Jason Shogren of the Department of Economics and Finance; law student Joel Defebaugh, a former president of the Associated Students of UW (ASUW); Brian Schueler, current ASUW president; Josh Decker, manager of UW Real Estate Operations; Rachel Stevens, data and communications manager in the School of Pharmacy; UW Foundation board member Greg Hill; Lynne Cheney, of Jackson; and Lynne Boomgaarden, of Cheyenne.

The full Board of Trustees will interview the finalists and select the next president, possibly as early as late December. Advertising of the position is expected to begin shortly.

The board continues to accept public comments about the presidential search via email at UW.Presidential.Search@uwyo.edu. For complete information about the presidential search, go to www.uwyo.edu/presidentsearch/.