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“The N.C. A&T Chancellor Search Forums Scheduled April 19, 21, and 26” - AGGIENEWS, April 18, 2006

Three public forums are being sponsored by the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Chancellor Search Committee. The public forums are being held to receive input on the characteristics and attributes for the next chancellor of N.C. A&T.

The first community public forum will be held Wednesday, April 19, from 5-7 p.m., at the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro Office, 330 South Greene Street, in Greensboro. The second community public forum will be held at 6 p.m., Wednesday, April 26, at the New Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 1310 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, in Greensboro. The community is encouraged to attend and participate.

A campus public forum for A&T staff will be held Friday, April 21, from noon to 2 p.m., A&T Memorial Union Exhibit Hall. A&T staff members are invited to share comments and feedback.

The community forums are being coordinated by A&T Search Committee members Shirley Frye, Walker Sanders, and Terry Stone, while the campus public forum is being coordinated by Clarence W. Page. Dr. Velma Speight-Buford is chair of the A&T Chancellor Search Committee.

The Search Committee includes members of the board of trustees, the faculty, the staff, the student body, the alumni and the community. Erskine B. Bowles, president of the University of North Carolina System, gave the committee its charge March 29.


 

Chancellor James C. Renick announced he had accepted a position as senior vice president

N.C. A&T Chancellor James C. Renick announced on February 3 that he had accepted a position as senior vice president for programs and research at the American Council on Education (ACE) in Washington, D.C., effective June 1. 


 

"Committee dives into A&T chancellor search" by Samuel Lau, Staff Writer, The Daily Tarheel”, March 31, 2006

By: Samuel Lau, Staff Writer

The N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University chancellor search committee received its charge from UNC-system president Erskine Bowles at its kick-off meeting Wednesday afternoon.

The committee will be working to replace Chancellor James Renick, who announced Feb. 3 that he had accepted a position at the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C. His new position is effective June 1.

Renick has served as chancellor since July 1999.

Bowles spoke to the committee about its responsibility to find the best person who can recognize the school's historical legacy while moving it to the next level, said Ann Lemmon, UNC-system associate vice president for human resources.

"His hope is the next chancellor will dream big," Lemmon said.

She added that Bowles wants someone who will be an active participant in the community and a dedicated fundraiser.

The search committee is composed of 15 members who represent a variety of interests, including university professors, trustees, members of the community and student government association president Justin Ramey.

Lemmon said there were about 40 other people at the meeting.

"The whole A&T world was represented at this," she said. "That's an indication of how involved the A&T community is."

While the committee's search did not open officially until Wednesday, Velma Speight-Buford, chairwoman of the school's board of trustees, said she received the first application for the position the day after Renick announced his resignation, and that she has received about 10 applications thus far.

Speight-Buford emphasized that the search is an open call for all candidates.

"You lose sight of the knowledge and qualities and skills that another person might have if you start out with one person that you already want," she said.

To aid the search process, the school has hired search firm Heidrick & Struggles. The firm, which also aided N.C. A&T with its last chancellor search, was chosen because of its familiarity with the university, Speight-Buford said.

Eric Sodorff, director of communications for the firm, said the group will consult its global database, as well its vast network of contacts, to present the committee with a short list of qualified candidates.

Speight-Buford said a timetable will be agreed upon May 17 when the committee next meets with representatives from the firm.

In the meantime, Speight-Buford said she will be busy reviewing applications for the interim chancellor position.

She said that she hopes to have finished her reviews by Wednesday, and that someone should be named to fill the slot by the second week in April.


 

“Public needs to see search for chancellor” – News and Record, March 21, 2006.

By: News-Record.com - Greensboro, North Carolina

The committee looking for N.C. A&T's next chancellor can't settle for just one top choice. It needs three.

Three candidates, selected by the search committee and approved by the A&T Board of Trustees, will be presented, unranked, to UNC system President Erskine Bowles, Velma Speight-Buford said Monday. She chairs the trustees board and heads the search committee. Bowles will make the final choice, which will be confirmed by the UNC Board of Governors.

Speight-Buford calls the process methodical. She also pledges to make it as open as possible.

That's the right approach. Too often, new chancellors have been introduced to UNC campuses and the public like a blind date: "He (or she) is perfect for you. It will be love at first sight!"

Sure enough, search committees often arrange just the right match between the university and its new leader, who soon settles in for a long and happy relationship.

Patricia Sullivan's tenure at UNCG has been just that sort of story.

James Renick's union with A&T has been equally blissful but, unfortunately, won't last as long. He leaves in June to become a senior vice president at the American Council on Education.

His replacement doesn't have to be a blind date. Two years ago, Appalachian State announced six finalists, bringing them to campus to meet faculty, staff, students and even residents of Boone.

"The process worked well for us, and we ended up with the right guy," ASU Board of Trustees Chairman Robert Fox told The News & Observer of Raleigh.

That requires the cooperation of the candidates, however.

"Only the ones who agree to be identified" will be named during the A&T search, Speight-Buford said. Others may insist on confidentiality, perhaps not wanting current employers to know they're looking around.

That would be regrettable. Pairing a chancellor with a state university is a matter of keen public concern. A&T and UNCG are vital local institutions; the chancellor has a big impact on the community. Civic leaders, and the public, should be able to see in advance how a prospective chancellor might affect the university's role in city affairs.

A&T's search committee is broad, including representatives of the faculty, staff, students, alumni, trustees and the greater community. Although it hasn't met yet, waiting for direction from Bowles next week, Speight-Buford already is speaking with campus groups about the process.

Sharing information, including the names of finalists, will serve the public interest and help produce a popular outcome. While carefully arranged blind dates can work out beautifully, it's preferable to let everyone enter new relationships with their eyes open. The more that's known in advance about a new chancellor, the better. Especially when there are three of them.


 

Fair Search for A&Ts Chancellor Vowed

Source: Greensboro News Record
Publication date: 2006-02-19
By LANITA WITHERS

GREENSBORO -- Since N.C. A&T Chancellor James Renick announced his resignation Feb. 3 , gossip has swirled about who will replace him, when that will occur and what impact his departure will have on the university.

There are more rumors floating around this search right now than (years) weve been in existence, Velma Speight-Buford, chairwoman of the universitys board of trustees, said at the boards meeting last week.

Forget the hearsay about the university merging with UNCG or that the next leader has already been tapped. Speight-Buford sat down with the News & Record to talk about the facts, the search process - - expected to take several months -- and her hopes for A&Ts next chancellor.

What will the search involve?

The UNC system has outlined the process for selecting a new chancellor, and President Erskine Bowles has appointed Speight- Buford chairwoman of the search committee. The panel will have 11 to 13 members, including trustees, faculty, alumni, students and members of the community. Speight-Buford would also like representation from the A&T staff and the universitys foundation. Hearings will be scheduled to get the publics input, and a search firm will help identify candidates.

The committee will probably interview eight to 11 candidates, pick three names to forward to the trustees for approval and then submit them to Bowles.

A lot of people think that when you send three names, you put your top one and the other two are weak, so you hope theyll take the top one. When you send the three names down there, youve got to be willing to live with either one. The names are not ranked. The president will pick one to recommend to the UNC Board of Governors.

How open will the search be?

This search is going to be open and its going to be fair. Nobody should have any preconceived notions at this moment as to who the chancellor is going to be.

A lot of times people will have a search and they already have a candidate in mind, but you go through the process. This is not the case here.

Regarding openness to the public: All information that we can release, I promise you will be released. Were not going to be releasing names because you can lose really good people when you release names.

Do you want the job?

No. Velma Speight is too old to be considered a candidate to be chancellor.

Its becoming more common for a chancellor not to have an academic background. Will that matter in the search?

This search is open. If a business person comes out at the top of the search, so it will be. A good chancellor, if he or she is a business person, they would find a good provost and person in academic affairs who could take care of that part.

What are some of the qualities you hope the next chancellor will have?

Theres a list: great interpersonal skills, very student- orientated, a vision to take the university to the next level, community involvement, integrity, knowledgeable of the universitys history, has physical management experience, understands the importance of athletics and values alumni.

Also, someone who believes in having a strong development office. Youve heard me always say, the academic area is the heartbeat of the university, but its the development office that keeps the heart beating.

I guess if I got all those qualities (in a candidate, he or she would) probably be able to walk on water, right? she said with a laugh.

Im not crazy enough to believe that a person is going to be superb in every one of them, but I believe those qualities can exist in the person.

What are some of the challenges to finding the right person?

Finding the kind of person that well be looking for, considering the level of monetary compensation the job candidate will receive in a public school system. A chancellors pay is not allowed to be supplemented.

Also, I guess a lot of the people who are being trained now to become leaders at colleges are looking at some of the better predominantly white universities as opposed to looking at the experiences and the growth that can happen at a HBCU (historically black college or university).

Is it important that the candidate appreciate A&Ts history as an HBCU?

It is critical. I look at it this way: A person without a history is a person without a future. So it is critical that a person understand that whole HBCU background in order to be able to take us to the level where we want to be. For example, a person has to understand even though coming here and seeing all these new buildings which resulted from the bond referendum and whatnot, there were years and years and years when there was no equity within the state.

Another issue would be access for students. HBCUs are still the ones who provide a college education to some students who may be considered borderline, who cant go other places. It doesnt mean that you are lowering standards, it means that you are providing resources for these students to have an opportunity to succeed.

What about an interim chancellor?

Bowles will appoint the interim chancellor; A&T won't.

You mentioned the rumors about UNCG and N.C. A&T merging. What do you say to those?

Years ago, during a meeting with former UNC system President Bill Friday and the national alumni association presidents from North Carolinas public historically black universities, Friday wondered if all those schools would survive the desegregation plan. My comment to Dr. Friday at that time, was Dr. Friday, A&T will always be there.

And until the last breath leaves my body, A&T will be here. There will be no merger.

How big a role will the ability to raise money play in the search?

The person coming here has got to be a fund-raiser. They need the contacts and whatnot to help us because we have a $100 million campaign going on. We need to raise a million dollars a month for the next 20 months, so we need a person coming in with lots of energy and lots of contacts.

As an alumna of A&T, what does it mean to you to be involved in the search process for the next chancellor?

My bottom line always is I came to A&T at 15 with a dollar and a half. A&T took me and molded me. I probably came here with ordinary talent, ordinary skill, ordinary motivation, and it sent me out with extraordinary talent, extraordinary skill and extraordinary motivation. And I have a responsibility to keep that going. This is more than a commitment to me; its a passion. I am honored to chair this search committee.


 
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