Some students, faculty and staff enumerated the qualities they want to see in Binghamton University’s next president at an open forum Wednesday — but a few people in attendance said the turnout wasn’t enough.
About 30 people attended the forum, which was held by the BU Council’s Presidential Search Committee in the Old University Union’s Old Union Hall.
Bobby DeMarinis, a sophomore majoring in economics and environmental studies, said it is great that BU prides itself on being a research institution, but he wanted a president who would emphasize BU’s academic programs.
He’s hoping for a president who would be “more focused on the educational aspect of the University,” he said. But not all speakers were in agreement.
Sandra Michael is a SUNY distinguished service professor and director of graduate studies in biological sciences. She wanted the next president to come from a research institution and to have ascended through the faculty ranks.
“We spend a good bit of our time doing research along with teaching,” Michael said, emphasizing that research is an important part of the University.
Kathryn Grant Madigan, the chair of the Presidential Search Committee and the chair of BU Council, said soliciting the opinions of the University community is an important part of the selection process.
“This is one of the most important decisions this University is making,” she said. “We take very seriously the feedback we get at these forums.”
There were also varying reactions toward the number of people who attended.
Madigan said she was “delighted with the number of students,” but not everyone was.
Katie Howard, the undergraduate representative on the search committee, said she was “disappointed that not a lot of students came.” However, she said that the ideas presented at the forum “will get taken into account.”
David Lee, the president of the local chapter of the Civil Service Employee Association, a 750-member union of tradespeople, also would have liked to to see more people attend.
“I’m very disappointed with the turnout here,” he said. The low turnout, he said, demonstrated that the BU administration and students, faculty and staff are “disconnected.”
The search committee was reaching out to get ideas, he said, and people were not reaching back to give their input.
The search for the next president is ongoing. Madigan said that the next step is to decide on an external search firm that would be responsible for seeking out candidates for the position.
Madigan hopes that a firm will be chosen by next week, but that the timeline is always in flux.
She said the committee is looking for a firm that would find presidential candidates who would never even consider applying, but that might be ideal for the job.
“We [the University] are on the rise,” Madigan said. She said the BU presidency is one of the top jobs in academia today.
Madigan estimates that a final candidate for president will be chosen in early or mid fall, and that the new president would begin work in early 2011.
In the meantime, an interim president will be appointed, but it is uncertain who will be chosen to fill the position.
Another open forum is planned to be held at the University Downtown Center for the Greater Binghamton community. The date of this forum is not yet announced.
Students, faculty and staff can also submit their input and feedback on the search committee’s website at www2.binghamton.edu/presidential-search. That site also has further information regarding the search process.