By Associated Press
Lexington, KY – Top University of Kentucky officials said Monday they're in the final stages of the school's presidential search and set out a timetable that would reveal the preferred candidate two days before school trustees hope to make the decision final.
In an e-mail sent to faculty, staff and students, UK Board of Trustees Chairman Britt Brockman and search committee Chairman Jim Stuckert said the trustees are tentatively scheduled to pick their preferred candidate the evening of May 1, after interviewing the finalists in northern Kentucky. The favorite will be introduced publicly that evening, then will visit the Lexington campus the next day.
Forums will be held on May 2 with faculty, students and staff, Brockman and Stuckert said. Also, an online survey is being created to allow people to offer immediate critiques to trustees.
Under that timetable, trustees would make a final decision May 3, they said.
"If all goes well, the candidate will be introduced again to the campus at a news conference," the two UK officials said.
UK is looking for a successor to outgoing President Lee T. Todd Jr., who is retiring in June after a decade spent leading the state's flagship university. UK has about 28,000 students and a nearly $2.5 billion budget.
"We continue to be excited about the quality of the candidates and their enthusiasm about the ambitions we possess and the progress we have made toward becoming a Top 20 public research institution," Brockman and Stuckert wrote in the campuswide e-mail.
The school's search committee is scheduled to meet next Monday, when it hopes to narrow the field to three to five finalists. Those names will be forwarded to trustees, who will ultimately select UK's 12th president.
The two stressed that the timetable is tentative, but said they were hopeful the search will stay on course.
Search committee members met behind closed doors late last month for more than 30 hours of interviews with campus presidential hopefuls at a northern Kentucky hotel.
Brockman defended the process that will give the public only a couple of days to weigh in on the finalist.
"We have to maintain a delicate balance between protecting the confidentiality of our candidates so as to ensure we get the best possible person and allowing the campus community to provide feedback and input," he said.
"While recognizing that no process is perfect, I believe we have struck that balance."
He noted that faculty, students and staff make up more than half the search committee. Also, forums were held on campus and across the state to gather comments on what UK should look for in its next president.