The Griffon News

Missouri Western’s Board of Governors has hired the firm of R. H. Perry & Associates to aid in the search for the university’s next president.
 
Dr. Allen Koenig, senior consulant for R. H. Perry & Associates, has led over 150 presidential searches and was the president of two universities.

Koenig met with staff, students, faculty, administrators, community members and Western’s Board of Governors Sept. 13 and Sept. 14 to hear their views on what they are looking for in the next president.

“I’m the most concerned with getting the person best fit for you. This person has got to be a leader first and foremost,” Koenig said.

R. H. Perry & Associates estimates receiving 20-30 solid potential prospects, many of whom they will nominate, during a nationwide search.
 
The Board of Governors has also appointed a Presidential Screening Committee composed of 20 individuals who will help narrow the field of candidates.

President Scanlon will retire on June 30, 2008 and the Board of Governors expects to have a final decision as soon as possible.

Beth Wheeler, vice-chair of the Presidential Screening Committee and the Director of External Relations, anticipates this process will be completed in a timely manner.
 
“What is most certain is that by Thanksgiving, we will have narrowed it to the finalists and from there it will depend on flight and personal schedules,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler is pleased that Scanlon gave the university ample time to find his replacement.
 
“President Scanlon was really conscientious in giving the university a year’s notice. It gives us time to do these things and do them well. And to find the right person and to find the right match and make the transition as smooth as possible,” Wheeler said.

Natalie Bailey, student representative on the Presidential Screening Committee, is looking forward to this process and hopes students will express their views.

“I think the process is going to go really well. I hope we get a lot of students involved to get their input, but so far I think it’s going great,” Bailey said.

The job application and qualifications will appear online Sept. 24 in the Oct. 5 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education.