First UW Presidential Search Committee to Meet Oct. 2

Following a successful series of sessions in which stakeholders expressed their desired characteristics and qualifications for the University of Wyoming’s next president, UW’s first presidential search committee has scheduled its next meeting.

The committee will meet Friday, Oct. 2, at noon in Old Main on the UW campus. The meeting is closed to the public, consistent with the Board of Trustees’ plan to keep the names of candidates confidential until the list of finalists is released.

The committee will, among other things, consider the input received from meetings held Monday and Tuesday with faculty, staff, students and the public. Those meetings were attended by an estimated total of 115 people, including a public session in Casper that was connected via video conference to many Wyoming communities.

Input gathered from the meetings will be used to develop criteria to evaluate candidates for the presidency.

“We appreciate the opportunity to hear from the people who care so deeply for the university about what they want to see in the next president,” says Alberto Pimentel of the consulting firm of Storbeck Pimentel, who hosted the meetings along with members of the first search committee. “The perspectives we gathered will be very helpful in identifying a slate of candidates who best fit what the state and university need and want.”

Written comments about the desired qualifications and characteristics of the next president still are being accepted via email at UW.Presidential.Search@uwyo.edu.

The first search 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.

Once the first search committee identifies a list of 10-15 semifinalists -- whose names will remain confidential -- a second committee is charged with interviewing those candidates and selecting three to five finalists. Those finalists will be identified publicly and come to campus for public forums.

The full Board of Trustees will interview the finalists and select the next president, possibly as early as late December.

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.

For complete information about the presidential search, go to www.uwyo.edu/presidentsearch/.