Criteria for Next President and Search Process
Approved by voice vote on September 19, 2023
Whereas, The Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities developed by the American Association of University Professors, the American Council on Education, and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges in 1966 reads, “The selection of a chief administrative officer should follow upon a cooperative search by the governing board and the faculty, taking into consideration the opinions of others who are appropriately interested”;1 and
Whereas, The Statement continues, “The president should be equally qualified to serve both as the executive officer of the governing board and as the chief academic officer of the institution and the faculty. The president’s dual role requires an ability to interpret to board and faculty the educational views and concepts of institutional government of the other. The president should have the confidence of the board and the faculty”; and
Whereas, The university’s history of presidential searches and turnover makes a quality search critical; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Faculty Senate believes the next president of Michigan State University should be a preeminent scholar, an accomplished academic, and an individual with substantial experience in leading a university administration; and
Resolved, That the search should continue for as long as it takes to identify such an individual and should not be limited by arbitrary deadlines; and
Resolved, That the Faculty Senate calls on the Board of Trustees to commit to only selecting a president who has received the endorsement of the Presidential Search Committee; and
Resolved, That the trustees should not choose any president who did not receive the endorsement of a majority of those chosen as the faculty and academic staff representatives on the Presidential Search Committee.
[1] American Association of University Professors, American Council on Education, and Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities (1966, amended 1990), https://www.aaup.org/report/statement-government-colleges-and-universities.