The search for a new WSU provost and executive vice president is officially underway, with a consultant hired and advertisements posted in The Chronicle of Higher Education and other media venues. In addition, the search committee is emphasizing the importance of receiving nominations from WSU faculty and staff.
Provost and Executive Vice President Robert C. Bates announced in mid-January his plan to step down on July 1.
“The most important next step in the search process is getting as large a pool as possible of qualified candidates,” said Warwick Bayly, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and chair of the search committee. “Our greatest chance of getting the right person for the job is to get a large pool of candidates, and the best source of qualified candidates is referrals from people in the WSU community. And given the timeline we have set out, we need to begin receiving nominations as soon as possible.”
The committee in February retained the search/consulting agency of Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, California and Pennsylvania, to assist in the process. Alberto Pimentel is the managing partner. The agency will play a lead role in identifying and recruiting candidates, and in researching and analyzing candidate qualifications, with the information provided to the search committee.
The process is labeled as open until filled, but the search committee is scheduled to meet March 31 to begin reviewing the applicant files. Bayly said he hopes they will have 8-12 top candidates at that point.
“To accomplish that,” said Bayly, “we need an initial pool of about 25-30 solid candidates. And, we need to begin receiving those names now, so the consultant can determine if those people meet our criteria, can begin making initial contact, seeing if they are interested, collecting vita and references, and reviewing the material. We have a short period of time to accomplish all that, which is why we have retained the help of the consultant.”
Nominations can be submitted to Bayly at wmb@wsu.edu, or to Alberto Pimentel, a.pimentel@storbeckpimentel.com
In February, the search committee met with faculty, staff and students statewide, collecting comments on characteristics they felt were important in a provost/executive vice president. The committee and the consultant then put together a job description and qualifications, which can be found online at www.provost-execvp-search.wsu.edu.
The Chronicle of Higher Education ad for the position can be found at www.provost-execvp-search.wsu.edu/WSUProvost-ExecVPAd.pdf
