Some 30 people representing a cross section of the campus academic community discussed qualities they'd like to see in a new UO provost when they gathered Oct. 10 for an hour-long campus comment session.
A long list of desired qualities wanted in the replacement for Provost Scott Coltrane, who is retiring July 1, surfaced in the meeting. Some qualities represented ideas already raised by the search committee, but many emerged from the public comments.
Among the qualities are the ability to assess excellence in all disciplines, advocacy for strengthening the tenure and promotion process, good listening skills coupled with strong decision-making abilities, the ability to engage easily with students, empathy for those who may be affected by administrative decisions, commitment to diversity and inclusion, familiarity with union negotiations, experience with top-notch researchers in multiple fields and international experience.
Some of those qualities were seen as important for vetting candidates. Some at the meeting also called for asking candidates how they view the challenges faced by an institution that does not have engineering and medical schools and exploring how candidates may relate to such fields as performance and fine arts, the humanities and other areas outside of the natural sciences.
Another suggestion was for the search committee to think beyond themselves to find a leader who complements the UO's existing strengths and has the ability to look far into the future. Also on the list was a call to include a diverse candidate pool that includes women and people of color.
Those in attendance for the session, which was led by chemistry professor Geri Richmond, the UO's Presidential Chair in Science, included about a dozen members of the search committee. A representative of Russell Reynolds Associates, a national search firm that will assist in the recruitment process, was linked in via the internet.
The search committee, named by President Michael Schill in August, also drew praise for the broad representation of campus among its 18 members. The provost search process and membership are described on the UO president's website.
The campus community is encouraged to continue to submit their thoughts about the attributes they’d like to see in a new provost and nominate candidates via email at Oregon.Provost@russellreynolds.com or to members of the search committee, Richmond said.
The suggestions gathered will be used to finalize a job description, as well as for building the criteria for evaluation documents to rate finalists invited to campus. The search committee is expected to post the job description in the near future on the provost search website listed above.
Audio: Hear Richmond's reaction to the session (39 seconds)
—By Jim Barlow, University Communications