The Presidential Search Committee narrowed down a pool of 15 applicants to three Monday morning.
Kent Fuchs, Cornell University Provost; David McLaughlin, New York University Provost; and Sibrandes Poppema, President of University of Groningen in The Netherlands, were chosen to meet with the committee Tuesday.
“All of these people have academic distinctions that are exquisite, and I’m very pleased,” said committee chairman Steven Scott.
UF Provost Joseph Glover withdrew his application Friday and was not among the 15 applicants, said UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes.
Scott told the committee that choosing the next president would be a fast process, Sikes said.
Scott said his wife will be happy when the process is over. He said before the committee debated the 15 applicants Monday, he had read 180 resumes and biographies and had flown to 10 states.
There were no new applicants this weekend, which was unusual, he said.
“I wish more could have come forward, as you can imagine,” Scott said. “But the Sunshine Law is not something everyone is willing to deal with. But we do have a very good pool.”
Search firm Greenwood/Asher & Associates, Inc. was paid $95,000, which is low for comparable presidential search services, Sikes said.
UF paid a Los Angeles firm about $90,000 to search for the new dean of the UF Levin College of Law last Spring.
Scott said he feels good about the remaining three applicants. He and the committee came up with several questions for today’s interviews.
“I think they’ll bring different perspectives,” he said.
As president, Bernie Machen makes about $500,000 a year. Sikes said the salary of the new president will be negotiated once a candidate is selected.
Candidate interviews will begin today at 7:30 a.m. at the UF Hilton Hotel and Conference Center in the Century A room and are open to the public. Following the interviews, the search committee will choose at least two candidates to stand in front of the Board of Trustees as finalists.
Candidates will participate in faculty and campus/community assemblies today through Wednesday.
The Board of Trustees meeting will begin at 8 a.m. Wednesday and continue until a president is selected.
Scott said he is ready to wrap up the process.
“I’ve been working on it for about five months, and it’s been exhaustive,” he said. “This is the culmination.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 10/14/2014]
UPDATE: As of Oct. 14, 2014 at 3 p.m. the presidential search committee has narrowed the field of candidates down to Dr. W. Kent Fuchs, provost of Cornell University, and Dr. David W. McLaughlin, provost of New York University.
The assemblies time for students and faculty to hear the candidates speak remain unchanged.
Kent Fuchs
McLaughlin is a candidate to replace Bernie Machen as UF president.
Poppema is a candidate to replace Bernie Machen and UF president
Kent Fuchs
