Search Committee meets with faculty, staff

On Friday, Feb. 8, the chancellor search committee held a faculty and staff forum to allow them to voice their concerns and opinions about the direction the committee should take in the search of a new chancellor.
“The type of feedback that we receive will let us know what type of chancellor the faculty wants and will help us set up a criteria to look for in future candidates,” said Mathew Butler, committee co-chair.
The search committee is headed by Southern University System President Ralph Slaughter and consists of southern alumni, faculty, student and community representatives.
“This is an open, inclusive, transparent process, ensuring the quality of Southern University . . . I called each member of this committee to serve with the understanding that they should not have a candidate in mind and that our goal was to find the best person for the job,” said Slaughter.
According to Committee Co-chair Jacqui Vines, the chancellor search proceeds in steps. The first step is to receive feedback from faculty and staff. Then the committee will obtain feedback from students and the community. Finally, the committee will create criteria that will help form an evaluation process, which will allow the committee to receive applications based on those qualifications.
“I think that who ever comes into the position needs to pay attention to the welfare of the staff and the students,” said Kamran Adollahi, a professor of urban forestry at Southern.
At the meeting, the staff was also introduced to a page on the Southern University System website on which a timeline of when the committee expects to find a chancellor is located.
“I think that the feedback we received from the faculty and staff was excellent and it will help shape the committee’s thought process,” said Slaughter.