Wright State to hold three campus forums on presidential search

Wright State University will host three forums for the campus community to give input on the university’s search for its seventh president.

Wright State’s Presidential Search and Screening Advisory Committee, which is charged with conducting the national presidential search, will hold forums on the following dates:

• Monday, Oct. 10, 2:30 to 4 p.m.: 109 Oelman Hall on the Dayton Campus
• Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2:30 to 4 p.m.: Gandhi Auditorium, 101 White Hall, on the Dayton Campus
• Wednesday, Oct. 12, 4 to 5:30 p.m.: Dicke Hall on the Lake Campus

The forums are open to the public, and students, faculty, staff and alumni are encouraged to attend.

The forums are part of the search committee’s efforts to learn more about what the community is looking for in the next president. Participants will have a chance to give their opinions on the background, experience and qualifications presidential candidates should possess.

“The search committee is committed to getting input from as many members of the Wright State community as possible,” said Doug Fecher, chair of the Presidential Search and Screening Advisory Committee. “It’s critical that we hear from students, faculty, staff and alumni as we strive to create expectations and optimal qualifications for the university’s next president.”

David R. Hopkins — who led Wright State during a campus expansion, record levels of enrollment and fundraising and national recognition for community service and being disability and military friendly — will retire as president when his contract expires June 30, 2017.

The forums are just one way the search committee is seeking input from the community.

The committee is currently soliciting feedback about the next president through an online survey.

The committee will also hold a Presidential Symposium on Oct. 19 on the state of higher education and challenges and opportunities the university’s next president will face. The symposium takes place from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in 109 Oelman Hall.

The symposium will be moderated by Steve Johnson, president of Sinclair Community College. The panelists include Sharon Gaber, president of the University of Toledo; Mary Ellen Mazey, president of Bowling Green State University; Bruce Johnson, president of the Inter-University Council of Ohio; Mike Duffy, a member of the Ohio House of Representatives; and Peggy Lehner, a member of the Ohio Senate.

The search committee will use input from the forums, survey, symposium and interviews with Wright State stakeholders to create a presidential profile describing the ideal candidate and the opportunities that person will have at Wright State. The profile will be used to help select candidates to bring to campus for interviews.

The search committee plans to present the presidential profile to the university’s Board of Trustees for approval in mid-October.

“We want top candidates who best meet the attributes voiced by the Board of Trustees based on input from the university community,” said Fecher, who is also vice chair of the Board of Trustees.

The search committee includes more than 20 representatives of the Board of Trustees, students, faculty, staff, deans, retirees and alumni as well as Dayton-area community members. The committee is working with Academic Search, an executive search firm specializing in higher education, on the search process.

More information on Wright State’s presidential search is available at wright.edu/presidential-search.