This article has been updated since its initial publication.
Kennesaw State’s Presidential Search and Screening Committee held a town hall meeting on Monday, Feb. 26, where faculty, staff and students raised concerns about the closed search for KSU’s next president.
Faculty, staff and students used the meeting as a way to raise their concerns and questions about the presidential search to Search Committee Chair Dr. Douglas Moodie and two representatives from Parker Executive Search, the search firm helping to find candidates and conduct the search.
In an email to the KSU community, Moodie said the committee will be conducting a closed national search where all of the candidates will remain confidential throughout the search process to protect their current job security.
“It is likely that the type of person that we want is not looking for a job,” the email said. “She or he is undoubtedly successfully serving another institution or organization. However, after our approaches, they may consider the opportunity here at KSU if it does not jeopardize her or his current position.”
Many immediately questioned the legality of the confidential search, sending questions about compliance with the Open Records Act and the Open Meetings Act to Moodie and the committee.
The Georgia Open Records Act states that records about candidates must be released five days prior to a vote for hire for meetings involving the review of application for the position of president of a university in the USG system. Within this period, a candidate is afforded the opportunity to decline further consideration in the process prior to documents being released.
The committee explained in another email that the role of the president is not considered the executive head of an agency. The BOR does not legally have to release information about candidates until no fewer than five days prior to their vote to maintain compliance with BOR Policy 2.2 and the acts.
Moodie said after the campus committee sends its final three to five candidates to the BOR special committee, they have no control over whether the BOR will remain confidential with the candidates.
Faculty members at the Town Hall meeting first asked about rumors that the president has already been chosen. President of Parker Executive Search Laurie Wilder responded that the firm does not get involved in rigged searches.
The main argument brought forth by many of those in attendance was that the KSU community has “lost faith” in the university and the BOR following KSU’s last presidency and controversies.
“This is a campus where trust has been broken at every level, and if this search process is not used to build a bridge back to productivity, we’re in a world of hurt,” said Dr. Roxanne Donovan. assistant chair of interdisciplinary studies.
Students attending the meeting also had concerns about the same issues and brought up the tension between former KSU President Sam Olens and the student body.
Sophomore Jabou Njie had not yet heard about the confidential search before she arrived at the meeting.
“I was so shocked!” Nije said. “It was unbelievable because I believe that if you’re going to be a president on campus, you’re going to be dealing with students. You need to know what the students want. I don’t get it.”
The committee is planning on using comments from the meeting to come up with a draft of the job description in the next week that will be sent to faculty and staff.
The next time the committee plans to meet in person will be in May to discuss candidates. Because they will be discussing candidates, the meeting will not be open to the public.
The committee is planning to hold 8-10 airport interviews with a standard set of questions. The committee is still currently looking for KSU community members to send recommendations for applicants, as well as questions the committee could possibly use in interviews.
The faculty senate passed several motions involving the presidential search during a faculty senate meeting the same day as the town hall.
Associate professor of conflict management Heather Pincock introduced this motion to the faculty senate on behalf of the faculty:
“We the faculty senate reject in the strongest terms the presidential search committee’s recent decision to keep the candidate’s names confidential during the entire search process. We call on the presidential search committee to reverse this decision and press the BOR to invite a short list of finalists in the penultimate stage of the search to visit campus with the expressed purpose of meeting faculty, staff and students.”
The motion passed with a vote of 37-4.
