UNH Presidential Search Committee Chair Named, Initial Process Outlined

MAY 17, 2006 - Lee, NH – The University System of New Hampshire Chairman of the Board Andy Lietz has appointed Ed Dupont, vice chair of the USNH Board, to chair the search for the next president at the University of New Hampshire. USNH Chancellor Stephen Reno outlined the search process in a letter that was distributed today to the UNH community. The contents of the letter follow.

Letter from USNH Chancellor Reno to the University of New Hampshire Community:

Earlier this month, Dr. Ann Weaver Hart announced her decision to accept an appointment as president of Temple University. While we all heartily congratulate President Hart on her new venture, we also reflect with appreciation on her four years at the University of New Hampshire and her fine work with this talented community of students, faculty, staff, alumni, Foundation, and many friends and supporters. During her presidency, the University has continued its rapid rise as one of those all-too-rare institutions nationally that succeeds in combining excellent research with excellent teaching, especially the distinctive education of undergraduates. Today UNH is truly a “college of first choice” for New Hampshire residents and for prospective students from across the country and, increasingly, around the world. These changes have come about through President Hart’s leadership and her consistent commitment to excellence, diversity, outreach, and entrepreneurialism. We all wish her well as she completes this academic year and enters upon new adventures.

As the UNH community looks to the future, a paramount concern is leadership in the interim. Over the last ten days, I have met with leadership and other representative groups to discuss the qualities and qualifications we should look for in an interim president. Clearly, there are many substantive projects already in progress and continuity of effort is important. Board of Trustees Chairman Andy Lietz expects to name an interim president by the end of next week. We all feel it is important to complete the current academic year, including this weekend’s Commencement ceremony, before identifying an interim president.

Looking ahead still further to the search, however, few events are more important in the life of a university than the naming of a new president. Similarly, few processes are themselves more subject to hopes and expectations than the search effort. We begin this task recognizing the intersecting interests of the UNH community, the Board of Trustees, and the larger community – regional, statewide, and national – in which the University exists. The appointment of a new president also presents an occasion to review the current status of the institution and to look ahead. In short, there is an opportunity to reaffirm valued traditions as well as to set new goals. In all senses, then, this is a thoughtful time: one in which all parties should engage in open and candid conversation so that the search process can begin, proceed, and conclude with shared values and understandings. Such conversations will be grounded in the University’s Academic Plan, which has served as the touch point for strategic decisions over the past three years and will continue to do so in the future, even as it is renewed to reflect changing circumstances and opportunities.

To open this dialogue, Chairman Lietz and I, together with Trustee Ed Dupont, who will chair the presidential search committee, shall be scheduling a day-long series of meetings or ”listening sessions” on Thursday, June 1st in Durham and in Manchester with groups from the UNH community, specifically, faculty, staff, students, the senior administration, and members of the larger community. A list of the times and places of these meetings will be posted after Commencement. We hope all interested persons will find a way to join us at one of these sessions. Following these meetings, we shall develop a “Challenge Document” that characterizes the University in a manner that is consistent with the Academic Plan and sets out the major challenges and opportunities that will face the campus and its new president. This public document will accompany the more traditional position announcement and job description materials that will be used in the search.

Following these day-long meetings, Chairman Lietz will appoint the remainder of the UNH Presidential Search Committee. It will include representatives of the Operating Staff, Professional Staff, Faculty, the student body, alumni, the greater Durham community, and members of the Board of Trustees. The Committee will receive staff support from UNH and general coordination from the Chancellor’s Office. While the search process cannot and should not be rushed, we shall place the position announcement by the end of June and try to move expeditiously to complete the work so that Dr. Hart’s successor can be named as early as possible in 2007.

Chairman Lietz, Trustee Dupont, and I look forward to meeting with the campus groups and members of the larger community and hearing the comments of all parties. We hope all will embark on this task with a spirit of unity, commitment, and shared determination to bring to the University of New Hampshire a president who will join with all of us in preserving but still further strengthening this very special institution.

Stephen J. Reno
Chancellor

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