Search Begins for Next UW President

The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees is hoping to announce the next UW President in February of 2013. Board President David Bostrom said they want to find a successor for Tom Buchanan, who will retire next summer, as soon they can.

“There are about 65 positions similar to this position at other universities open nationwide and we want to make certain we have the best applicant pool that we can possibly get,” Bostrom told KOWB. “Having an aggressive time schedule to make certain we don’t miss somebody who has already taken another job is extremely important to us.”

A special meeting was held in Laramie on Monday to discuss the selection process, which will remain completely confidential until the next President is announced.

“If we are not completely confidential in the process there will be a significant number, especially sitting presidents of other universities, who will not become part of the process, who will not become applicants, because the minute their name becomes a public matter, they have lost credibility at their current institution.” said Bostrom. “So, we’ve got to be completely confidential to get the largest pool of the best applicants we can probably get.”

To help in assembling the pool of candidates, a national consultant will be hired and present at the next Board meeting on October 12th, when the selection process will be finalized. Bostrom said the Board is also looking at utilizing two screening committees. The first will narrow the field down to 10-15 candidates and the second will choose the final 3-5 candidates that the Board of Trustees will select the 24th President from.

The screening committees will consist of Board members as well as faculty, students, staff, members of the UW Foundation and external sources. Bostrom said that while the final decision will be made by the Board of Trustees, it’s important to have non-Board members assist in the selection process, ”Having more people who are residents of the State, who are contributors to the State, who are important to the State, have input into the process, gives us a better look at all of the candidates to make sure we’re satisfying the needs of the State of Wyoming as it relates to University of Wyoming.”

The Board will be deciding on the specific make-up of the those committees at their next meeting on October 12th as well as working with their chosen consultant to come up with a profile of the position. The profile will assist the consultant in finding candidates which could be a good fit for UW. Several trustees noted the unique position the university is offering because they are an institution that is healthy and saying goodbye to a successful head executive.

“We’re not looking for a change,” commented Trustee Brad Mead. “We’re satisfied with the trajectory and simply want to go to the next level. We want to continue the remarkable progress made under President Buchanan.”