Some faculty members have expressed concern that the search for candidates to replace University President Dave Frohnmayer is taking place behind closed doors. George Pernsteiner, the Oregon University System chancellor, argues that a closed search will attract more highly qualified candidates. Although closed presidential searches are becoming more common, their secretive nature sometimes makes them unpopular.
Pernsteiner says presidents at other universities don’t want to endanger their current jobs by applying for a new one. Applying secretly is dishonest to their community and the one they hope to join. If they are willing to be secretive about getting the job, community members must question if other crucial decisions will be made secretly while in office.
Pernsteiner and the OUS have created public forums in the Eugene and Portland areas in order to solicit community input on traits desired in potential candidates. OUS has the right idea in taking advice from the public, but it would be even more effective if the public was permitted to vet the candidates in ways that the people who run for public office are examined. A powerful administrative position certainly warrants such scrutiny.
And while the search committee hides the candidates from the public, it is also hiding them from media coverage that could potentially prove them unsuitable to take the position. The committee may be protecting the privacy of the candidates, but the public should know about anything that may disqualify a candidate before he or she is hired. A closed presidential search also undermines the democracy that America was founded on. The selection of a University president is a major decision, and it is one that should involve every member of the University community who has something to say. The faculty and students will be most directly affected by the new administrator and they need to know what’s coming. If OUS wants the process and end result to be ideal for every party on campus, it should open the search to allow students, faculty and administrators equal opportunity in making a decision that will severely impact the University’s future for years to come.
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