Dear members of the Wright State University Community:
On behalf of the WSU Presidential Search and Screening Advisory Committee (S-SAC), I am writing to update you on our progress with our search.
We are currently in a quiet phase of the search as we go about the business of selecting a search firm to assist us in our work. This is the “calm before the storm,” so to speak.
We have developed a draft search plan that, once ratified by the full committee, will be posted to the presidential search website.
We have sent requests for proposal to more than 20 different executive search firms, including minority-owned firms, firms specializing in higher education, and others. The due date for proposals was July 25. Finalists will be invited for on-campus interviews, and the full S-SAC will select a search firm by August 31.
Because our committee is so large, we’ve broken into work groups to facilitate our progress. Three work groups are currently active: An RFP Work Group to help screen search firms, a Community/Inclusion Work Group to gather information from key constituencies of the WSU community regarding what we should be looking for in our next president, and a Marketing/Collateral Material Work Group that will help develop materials describing WSU to prospective candidates.
We are also working on a Presidential Symposium, tentatively scheduled for October (the date is to be determined). The symposium will be open to the public and will feature sitting presidents and other higher education leaders on a panel to provide insight into the opportunities and challenges facing higher education in Ohio within the next 5-10 years. We believe input from the panel will help the S-SAC develop a more complete picture of exactly the type of president we should be looking for.
Once a search firm is selected we will develop a timeline of search meetings and events that will be posted on the WSU Presidential Search website at wright.edu/presidential-search. All meetings will be held in public unless a topic calls for discussion in executive session according to Ohio law.
I want to thank members of the Search and Screening Advisory Committee and members of the WSU community at large as we begin our work. As a reminder, the committee’s objective is to present the WSU Board of Trustees one or more highly qualified and acceptable candidates from whom to choose as Wright State University’s seventh president. Our goal is conduct an open and transparent search while recognizing the need to respect the privacy of potential candidates. We are looking forward to a successful search.
As always, I thank you for your support!
Douglas A. Fecher
Chair, WSU Presidential Search and Screening Advisory Committee
