Monday, November 15, 2010

A subcommittee of the UNC Wilmington Chancellor Search Committee met via conference call on Monday, Nov. 15 to discuss the next steps in the search firm selection process.

After reviewing the qualifications of four search firms, the subcommittee decided that all four will be asked to participate in phone interviews Wednesday and Thursday this week. Two interviews will be held each day from 9 to 11 a.m. via conference call. Alderman 110 will again serve as the on-campus location for the call, which will be led by Search Committee chair Wendy Murphy.

The four firms being considered are:
Parker Executive Search
Hodge Partners Executive & Board Search
Storbeck/Pimentel Executive Search Consultants
The McAulay Firm, Excellence in Executive Search

Participants in today's meeting included committee members Murphy, Sandy McNeil, Estell Lee Harrelson, Terry Coffey, Bruce McKinney, George Teague, Michael Shiver and Charles Evans, as well as Ann Lemmon, associate vice president for human resources for the UNC system and Max Allen, secretary to the search committee.

Lemmon referred to a search firm as "the arms and legs of the search committee," and described three primary expectations:
1. Assists with logistics such as scheduling, reimbursing, background and reference checks 2. Acts as the main contact between candidates and the committee. Their job is to have "a pulse on the right candidate base"
3. Represents the university to candidates by properly conveying campus needs and recruit candidates with experience and interest in this size university

Lemmon, who has experience with several chancellor search processes through the UNC system, sought search firms with experience in searches with institutions similar in size to UNCW. Five firms were asked to submit bids within a five-day period and four accepted the request.

See Video of UNC President-elect Tom Ross Addressing the Committee