Search goes on for new Bowles

Chancellor Holden Thorp is patiently waiting for the announcement of his new boss.

Thorp and others invested in the search to replace UNC-system President Erskine Bowles have contributed their fill of recommendations for what they would like to see in the next system president.

R. William Funk and Associates served as consultants, and the next president’s salary was set at a maximum of $550,000.

Now it’s time to expand the applicant pool and attract as many top-notch candidates as possible to replace Bowles during continually challenging economic times.

“I think that we’re in for a quiet phase right now,” said Board of Governors Chairwoman Hannah Gage, the chief spokeswoman for the presidential search process.

“We’re hoping that we will have a really vibrant pool by mid- to late-July.”

“Right now we’re just generating interest, making calls, connecting with people and soliciting input,” she said.

The Leadership Statement Committee crafted a description of the type of candidate they would like to attract, and it’s a candidate that might not necessarily exist.

“Every single one of us would love for another Erskine Bowles to appear … with the deep North Carolina ties and commitment to the state, and commitment to the university system,” Gage said.

“The cold hard reality is, however, right now, we don’t see the next Erskine Bowles, at least clearly.”

Bowles took charge of the system just in time to manage the economic crisis and the series of budget cuts that ensued.

Coming from a business and political management background, Bowles was able to create efficiencies and make cuts that wouldn’t impinge on the classroom, most notably cutting 900 administrative jobs in the 2009-10 budget season.

With that success in mind, relative to other state university systems — like the University of California system, which had to raise tuition by 32 percent to close budget gaps last year — the search committee is looking for someone with experience in managing complex organizations.

“There are some extraordinary presidents and chancellors around the country right now that are challenged by the economic landscape,” Gage said.

“I think that there is an advantage in having an individual that has managed complex organizations in the past, because … they’ve learned to do more with less. They have had to justify the cost of everything that they’ve done.”

But while legislators and board members want managerial experience, faculty and staff want an academic background.

“I think there are a lot of faculty and staff who feel strongly that it be somebody who also has a background in higher education,” Thorp said.

“It’s hard to find both. They’ll have a difficult job trying to figure out which of these priorities are most important.”

Gage said the next president must be able to manage continued cuts to the system’s $7.4 billion budget.

“I think we’re looking at another two or three legislative sessions that are going to be very, very challenging,” Gage said.

“The next hurdle is getting through the next year when the federal stimulus money is withdrawn,” she said. “I don’t think that we’re out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination.”

Applications are already coming in, and the next step is to review them, narrow the pool and ultimately recommend one or more finalists to the Board of Governors.

Gage said she is confident that Bill Funk, who helped find Thorp in a nationwide search, will bring in the right candidate for the job, regardless of whether their background is in politics, business or academics.

“We may find that there is a very strong candidate with an academic background that also has managed complex operations,” Gage said.

“I think that it’s impossible to predict where we’ll end up.”

Contact the State & National Editor at stnt@unc.edu.