Miami University fills similar vacancy

The presidential search committee met yesterday morning to discuss the ongoing search process, chair Sandra Harbrecht said.

It is still taking applicants and will until the day it announces a new president, Harbrecht said. So far, it has received more than 100 applicants.

She would not discuss whether the committee has started looking at specific candidates.

Current president Carol Cartwright announced plans to retire in October. The search committee began in November.

Miami University recently completed its presidential search, which began in October. The previous president, Jim Garland, announced intentions to retire in August. James Brock, professor of economics at Miami, was a faculty representative on the committee. Like Kent State, Miami’s committee consisted of faculty, administrators, students, trustees and alumni.

With a search firm, Brock said Miami’s committee held open sessions to find out what people wanted in their next president — like Kent State did.

“That’s probably the most beneficial part of the process,” Brock said. “You learn about yourself.”

After releasing a position description, Miami’s committee got through its applications in late fall and early winter, Brock said, and narrowed it down to fewer than ten candidates. They passed a few of those candidates on to their Board of Trustees, who chose Miami’s next president, David Hodge.

While Miami and Kent State’s initial progress was similar, Harbrecht would not say if Kent State would take a similar approach when looking at specific candidates.

Contact administration reporter Rachel Abbey at [email protected].