James Rampersad
Temple's new president-elect could be announced by the end of the spring semester. With a search process over six months in the making, many at the University have questions as to what goes into this process. Who picks the next leader of the university? How much of this search is publicized?
Temple’s flag flies high outside the Office of the President.
(Photo Credit: James Rampersad)
A New Process
Following an unprecedented five different Temple presidents in under eighteen years, the university is making a concerted effort to take a different approach in finding the next president. The search for the next university leader will incorporate the input of stakeholders and a third-party consulting firm, called the Collective Genius.
This newly formed partnership is an approach that Temple is trying in order to ensure a quality selection process. According to the “University Voices” report conducted by the Collective Genius, the university has garnered more than 30 hours of audible feedback and over 2,100 survey responses from stakeholders as to what the next president should bring to the table. Michael Schirmer, a professor at the Fox School of Business, says this new approach is much better than what Temple has done in the past.
“This kind of consultation makes sure that many different voices are heard,” Schirmer said.
Some students, however, are not completely sold on this new tactic. Conor Murcar, a junior, says this will not change much from a leadership perspective.
“It still feels like many of the same facets are in place,” Murcar said. “This might make some waves for those higher up in the administration, but it really does not change things for me,” he concluded.
Temple is not the first higher education institute to seek consultation on a major decision such as this one. In fact, it has become almost rare for universities to select someone to the presidential office without getting insight from an outside firm. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, at least 92 percent of colleges and universities hire a search firm when looking for a new president. However, Temple is late on this practice, as this search is the first in the history of the university to utilize an outside consultation firm.
A Decision Made by Few
Temple may be a university that serves thousands of people, but realistically, only a few people have a say in who ultimately leads the school. The two main groups involved in the presidential search are leadership advisory firm Spencer Stuart, as well as Temple's Presidential Search Advisory Committee.
Firstly, to Spencer Stuart. According to their website, the firm “brings comprehensive knowledge and access to top talent throughout the academic sector, as well as a thorough understanding of the sensitivities and cultural nuances of academia and research-based environments”.
Spencer Stuart has worked with various universities in recent years, assisting the likes of Penn State and Loyola University Chicago in their respective search processes. Jennifer Bol is the founder of the education and social impact practice at the firm and is leading the process.
Working with Spencer Stuart is Temple’s own Presidential Search Advisory Committee. The committee is made up of a ranging array of Temple community leaders, including deans, professors, and trustees. For students, the closest representation they have on the committee comes from Student Government President, Rohan Khadka. Freshman, Cole Owens, says consolidating the entire student body’s thoughts on who should lead the university into one person is detrimental to the process.
“Having one person essentially represent thousands of students on such an important decision is not a good look,” Owens said.
While others, like senior, Rob Hoyle, feel confident in student leadership.
“I trust their judgement with something like this,” Hoyle said.
According to the April 8 press release from the university, “the committee unanimously narrowed the pool to a very small group of highly qualified individuals”.
Process Conducted in Private
As the search reaches its final stages of the selection process, Temple has emphasized to the public that this process is highly sensitive, therefore the final candidates cannot be disclosed. According to Temple’s Office of the President website, confidentiality is a key part in making sure this search is successful.
Although, specific names are kept from public light, the university is confident with their internal vetting process. It is for this reason, that they opted to hire a consultation firm like Spencer Stuart in the first place, stating that the firm “has vast experience in discreetly vetting and recruiting qualified candidates for leadership roles”.
Veronica Ward is a sophomore and would like to see the final candidates' names publicized, but she understands why they are kept in confidence.
“It would be nice to at least know who they are considering,” Ward said. “But publicizing those peoples’ names could really overcomplicate the process.”
Temple seeks to make their final votes on who is appointed and will ultimately introduce the new president-elect to the Temple community by the end of the spring semester.
On July 3, it was announced that John Fry would be appointed as the 15th president of Temple University.
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