Committee to ask for input on chancellor

As the search continues for the University’s next chancellor, the committee responsible for finding a suitable candidate is turning to the UNC community for input.

The chancellor search committee met Monday to discuss its upcoming public forums, which will start Wednesday, along with the qualities members of the public might want in the next chancellor.

The committee formed with the leadership of Wade Hargrove, chairman of the Board of Trustees, after Chancellor Holden Thorp announced in September that he will step down in June.

Responses from the forums will be used to craft a leadership statement, which will guide the committee’s search, said Felicia Washington, a trustee and vice chairwoman of the committee.

“The public forums are a big part of this so that all constituencies will be heard and their thoughts considered,” she said.

People who want to speak at the forums will sign up when they arrive, and they will have three to five minutes to speak, said Erin Schuettpelz, assistant secretary to the Board of Trustees.

Student Body President Will Leimenstoll said student government members will be present at each forum.

Leimenstoll said members will have large posters with lists of different qualities to look for in a chancellor, and those in attendance will be able to put stickers next to their priorities.

“It will get the forum more structured and the responses more quantitated,” Leimenstoll said.

Don Curtis, a trustee and a member of the search committee, said the forums are important as they give the public the opportunity to share their views.

“We may hear some surprising things,” he said. “We need to go in with ears open.”

A survey will also be sent out in order to incorporate the views of those who can’t attend the forums.

“We’re taking what’s going on at the forums and putting it online for people who can’t be there,” said Michael Bertucci, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Foundation.

The survey will be sent to a list of more than 180,000 students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the University, Schuettpelz said.

At Monday’s meeting, members spent most of the time tweaking the questions that will appear on the survey, including personal qualities and background of the future chancellor, as well as what the University should focus on in the coming years.

Schuettpelz said the survey will be distributed before Thanksgiving, and it is separate from the one c“irculated by student government”:http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2012/10/students-rank-university-values-in-survey.

“It’s a great way for us to proactively seek input,” she said. “It will take someone five minutes.”

On the survey, respondents can also note what they hope the University will prioritize.

“After Saturday, we’re going to hear they want Gio Bernard as chancellor,” Curtis said.

Contact the desk editor at university@dailytarheel.com.