WSU President Search Draws Ire Of Faculty, Staff Keeping Candidates’ Names Secret ‘Would Be A Disaster’

Washington State University faculty and staff bristled this week at suggestions that a new WSU president could be picked without being introduced publicly in Pullman.

A decision on whether the identities of finalists should be kept under wraps hasn’t been made, but WSU regent and search committee chairman Peter Goldmark told separate groups this week that it remains a possibility.

“Universities and colleges have conducted searches of that style, not without problems, but some people feel the yield is worth the effort,” Goldmark told staff and administrative personnel gathered for a brown bag forum Thursday.

That might work in Seattle - where University of Washington regents held closed interview sessions in 1995 to choose Dick McCormick - but it would flop in Pullman, employees said.

“I think it would be a disaster for WSU, an absolute disaster,” said John Anderson, an administrative services manager in biological systems engineering.

“At some point the finalist has to say `OK, here I am, I’m ready to commit,”’ added Mary Read in University Publications.

But top-notch candidates are increasingly hesitant to go through a public process for fear the release of their name could jeopardize their current position, Goldmark said. Reporters will find out the names anyway, warned Sue Hinz in WSU News and Information.

“Our colleagues in the media are quite clever,” she said.

During the 1996 University of Idaho search that resulted in the hiring of President Bob Hoover, top finalists went through a grueling series of meetings with faculty, students, community, business, media and political groups. Candidates were also taken to each of the UI’s branch centers. Members of the WSU Faculty Association for Scholarship and Research also expressed serious concern about the board choosing a president without any open forum.

“We’re acutely aware of that issue,” Goldmark responded to faculty gathered Wednesday night. “The caveat is a very attractive candidate who has a position that might be at risk if their candidacy were to become public. There may be a shy candidate out there.”

That decision isn’t likely to be made until the board has received a short list of candidates from the search committee - a process that’s still two months away.

“I’m trying to be careful and not commit the board to something it’s not committed to,” Goldmark said.

Faculty on Wednesday also expressed concern about low morale and budgetary constraints that Goldmark acknowledged had caused “stresses and strains.”

“I recognize you feel isolated and not listened to,” he told faculty, urging them not to dwell on internal problems.

The search committee meets today for a report on how the candidate pool is developing since advertisements began running nationally last month.