Lack of transparency may affect search for new Ball State president

Not knowing why the previous president left may negatively impact the search for a new person to fill the position, two search firms say.

When former President Paul W. Ferguson unexpectedly resigned from his position in January, many students and faculty questioned the university's apparent unwillingness to give details on his departure.

Now the Board of Trustees is starting its search to fill the position, starting by hiring a search firm.

The Board of Trustees started discussing the search at its March 14 meeting. Chairman Rick Hall said while the board is going to start looking for a search committee and plans to hire a professional consulting firm, he was not going to put a timeline on the effort at all.

“It’s important for us to get a very strong leader and important to get the right person," he said. "It wouldn't be surprising if this lasted into next year's academic year."

So, how hard is it going to be to do a search for a university where they won't release details as to why the president resigned?

“It’s a tricky situation,” said Jay Berger, partner of Morris & Berger.

Morris & Berger is an executive search firm with a specialty practice that includes higher education institutes, according to morrisberger.com.Berger said the school would want to release more information and clarity because the lack of transparency may have a negative impact the search.

“Not releasing any real information would impact the candidate pool for the search because candidates will wonder what the reason for the termination was, and may be fearful if they are selected as the next president,” Berger said.

The search firm itself would want to make sure that they had all the information in order to fully understand the specifics and feel comfortable with working with the school board in finding the best possible candidate, Berger said. 

Jan Asnicar, senior vice president and managing director of EFL Associates’ higher education executive search firm, agrees.

EFL Associates provides higher education executive recruitment solutions for colleges and universities, and serves a variety of institutions, according to eflassociates.com.

“The first step is ... get to know the needs of the institution and the initiatives that are driving the institution,” Asnicar said. “There are specific things that each institution may need that vary from school to school.”

Asnicar said in order to help identify qualified candidates, the school would have to be honest.

“We would ask for a reason for the departure,” Asnicar said. “It is very important for the institution to be transparent throughout the process and it may very well start with this question. It sets the tone for the search process, for the types of candidates who will venture forward with an application and will affect the outcome of the search.”

However, Andrea Warren, vice president and senior consultant of Academic Search, Inc., said while the situation is difficult, the unexpected resignation would not affect the search. Academic Search provides search services for colleges and universities looking to hire senior officers. 

“Personnel decisions like hiring, evaluation, firing and separation are confidential and we understand that — so do candidates,” Warren said. “Even in the aftermath of difficult or unexpected transitions, our pre-search conversations with diverse campus constituencies help us to understand and to communicate to candidates the particular needs of the institution at this specific time in its history.”

Regardless, the Board of Trustees is not likely to release any information to search firms on the reason why Ferguson resigned, said university spokesperson Joan Todd. 

"With regards to personnel matters, the university maintains the appropriate levels of confidentiality," Todd said. "We would not publicly discuss the personal matters of other employees, including an employee who was serving as president of the university." 

The Board of Trustees met on April 6 and April 11 to interview four potential search firms: R. William Funk and Associates, Witt/Kieffer, Parker Executive Search and AGB Search. 

Witt/Kieffer and Parker Executive Search declined to comment. 

See more details from the interviews here.

The board will announce the name of the search firm at its meeting on April 15. 

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