July 9, 2020

For Immediate Release
July 9, 2020

UA Board of Regents considers nominees for interim UA president; establishes attributes for selection process

FAIRBANKS -- Today the University of Alaska Board of Regents adopted five key attributes for selecting an interim university president and discussed finalizing a list of candidates for interviews later this week and early next week. The names of the final candidates will be made public at the board’s July 10th meeting. The interim system president will lead the university for up to 18 months while the board conducts and finalizes a formal presidential search.

Regents interviewed multiple stakeholders from around Alaska to determine the attributes an interim president should possess. In addition, the board included in the attributes the Board of Regents policies that govern the president’s role. As adopted, the attributes include:

  • Immediate Stewardship of the University: The interim president should have immediate experience with, understanding of, and passion for the university and its unique contribution to and connection with all Alaskans; and must enter the role with knowledge sufficient to immediately and credibly engage on behalf of the board and the university with internal and external stakeholders.
     
  • Core University Mission: On behalf of all Alaskans, the interim president should have extensive experience with, understanding of, and commitment to scholarly activity including teaching and research, and be committed to a student-centric university, which integrates the contributions of its community campuses, and supports a proactive approach to workforce development.
     
  • Collaboration: The interim president should have successful experience unifying a statewide diverse organization using genuine collaboration and superb communications. The interim president should collaborate with employers, donors, community leaders, alumni, and other key stakeholders. The interim president must understand and embrace shared governance as a fundamental element of university leadership, while leading difficult and rapid organizational change including substantial budget challenges.
     
  • Management: The interim president should have substantial executive-level experience leading large complex organizations, and possess a fundamental understanding of key managerial functions such as finance and budget, legislative and government affairs, labor relations, real property management, and fundraising.
     
  • Executive Agent of the Board: Per the Alaska constitution, Alaska statutes, regent policies and university regulations, the president must serve as the executive officer of the board of the university in accordance with and directed by the board in exercising its fiduciary responsibility.

The Board of Regents, with Chief Human Resources Officer Steve Patin and General Counsel Matt Cooper, discussed the candidacy of 35 people nominated for the interim president position. Names of the nominees were compiled from many sources including from individual regents, stakeholders and those who asked to be considered for the position. The names of those nominated are confidential, but of those considered:

  • 24 are male
  • 11 are female
  • 25 have academic or academic administration experience
  • 3 are business leaders
  • 5 come from a political background
  • 1 is a university staff member
  • 1 is an Alaska Native Leader
  • 2 of the nominees are from outside of Alaska

The board narrowed the pool to a short list of finalists and will conduct interviews with each candidate between July 10-13. For more information and updates about the interim presidential process, please visit www.alaska.edu/pres/interim.

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For more information, contact Roberta Graham, associate vice president of public affairs at 907-360-2416 (cell).