About
How a Chancellor Search Works
When the chancellor's office turns over, a search committee — not the Board of Regents alone — runs a process that takes the better part of a year.
Who runs the search
A search-and-screen committee is appointed with representation from faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the surrounding Porter Falls community, chaired by a sitting Regent but not dominated by Regents — the idea is that the people who will actually work for and with the new chancellor have a real voice in choosing them, not a token consultation.
The timeline
A national search typically runs eight to ten months from the committee’s formation to a Regents vote: a few months to build the position profile and open applications, several more for the committee to screen candidates and conduct confidential first-round interviews, then a public phase.
The public finalist phase
Three to four finalists visit campus for a multi-day public forum — open sessions with students, faculty, staff, and community members, each followed by a feedback survey the committee weighs alongside its own interviews. Finalist names and campus-visit schedules are announced publicly in advance, and forums are recorded for anyone who cannot attend.
The final decision
The search committee forwards its assessment, unranked, to the Board of Regents, which makes the final hiring decision and negotiates contract terms directly with the chosen candidate — the committee recommends; it does not vote to hire.