On October 24, the Oakland University Board of Trustees created an Ad Hoc Presidential Search Committee to conduct a national search and develop a pool of candidates for the next president of Oakland University.
The Committee will look at all candidates to see who are the best fit for the University, and will not rule out any candidate based on a single criterion; multiple criteria will be considered.
The Committee’s overall goal is to recommend an unranked selection of up to three highly qualified, thoroughly vetted presidential candidates from whom the Board may select the next president. The Committee will function in an advisory capacity; the Board alone will select and appoint the next president.
The Committee will work towards the Board’s goals of offering a five-year contract to the top candidate as soon as practical, and announcing the next president by June 2017. The next president will then take office by August 13, 2017.
The Board approved the framework for the presidential search and announced that Board Chair Richard L. DeVore will also serve as chair of the Committee. Other trustees who will be serving on the Committee are Ronald Robinson, Mark Schlussel and Melissa Stolicker. The charge to the Committee can be viewed via the Board of Trustees website.
Four additional members have now been added to the Committee:
- Glenn McIntosh, Vice President for Student Affairs
- Kevin Corcoran, Ph.D., Dean, College of Arts & Sciences
- Linda Gillum, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs, and Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, OUWB
- Karen Markel, Ph.D., Chair of the Management and Marketing Department and Associate Professor of Management
Mr. McIntosh was appointed as Vice President for Student Affairs in May 2015. Prior to this appointment, he served as Dean of Students. He was the founding Director of the Center for Multicultural Initiatives. He also created the national and regional awarding-winning Oakland University Trustee Academic Success Program. The scholarship program consistently yields one of the highest underrepresented minority student graduation rates in the country. He has also provided leadership for the establishment of the Gender and Sexuality Center.
Dr. Corcoran, a Professor of Psychology and Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, joined the university in 2013 and has served on the Diversity Council, as a Board Member for Meadow Brook Theatre, and on the Campus Master Plan Committee. Throughout his career, his academic work has focused on choice behaviors, especially those which involve addictive behaviors. He has also provided active leadership in community engagement.
Dr. Gillum, a Michigan native, joined the OUWB School of Medicine in October 2008 after a 30-year career in academic administration. At the University of Michigan, she served as Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and Academic Services in the School of Medicine, and Assistant Provost for Academic Affairs. Her scholarship has focused on learning, learning behaviors and effective learning environments.
Dr. Markel specializes in the area of human resource management, specifically diversity management and the employment of people with disabilities. She has published in numerous outlets, including the Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Business Ethics, Human Relations and the Journal of Vocational Behavior. She is also certified as a Senior Professional of Human Resources.
In addition, the two student liaisons to the Board have been asked to assist the Committee as non-voting student advisors to provide student perspectives and to solicit student input.
On October 24, requests for proposals were issued to 15 national firms experienced in presidential searches both in the state and across the country. Interested firms were asked to submit proposals by November 4, and it is expected that vetting the presidential search firm will be one of the Committee’s first orders of business. The Board expects to approve a presidential search firm at its December 5 formal session.
Although most of the search process will be closed, the communication process through University Communications & Marketing will be open and on a regular schedule. There will also be updates by Chair DeVore at formal Board sessions, open campus forums at the beginning of the search process and open campus forums with the finalists. Any questions or comments about the presidential search process should be directed to the Board’s Secretary at [email protected].