Chancellor search committee plans more discussion
The Chancellor Search Committee at East Carolina University has completed a second round of interviews with candidates and plans to invite a small number of candidates back for further discussions. The committee’s most recent candidate interviews were held Dec. 14 and 15 at a Raleigh hotel.
They followed an initial three-day series of interviews in mid-November and background and reference checks by the committee. Phillip R. Dixon, chair of the committee and also chair of the ECU Board of Trustees, said some candidates will be invited to return for the more in-depth discussions during a third round of interviews scheduled for Jan. 4 in Raleigh.
Dixon also said that the committee decided not to open the search to participation by additional members of the university community at this time although this issue will be reconsidered by the committee at every meeting. Dixon said all remaining candidates have been invited to visit the campus discretely and quietly. They have also been offered the opportunity to meet with any other campus or community persons if they so desire.
The 15-member search committee, which includes four faculty members as well as trustees, alumni and student representatives, began its work in May after Chancellor Richard Eakin announced that he plans to retire next year. In addition to Dixon, members of the committee are Everette L. Daniel Jr., president of the ECU Foundation and executive vice president of Scott Insurance Co.; Janice H. Faulkner, past chair of the Board of Visitors and commissioner of the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles; Charles R. Franklin Jr., vice chair of the ECU Board of Trustees; Dr. Brenda L. Killingsworth, associate professor of decision sciences and immediate past chair of the faculty; Willie Lee Jr., chair of the ECU Staff Forum and director of University Printing and Graphics; Dr. Julius Q. Mallette, associate clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology and assistant dean of students at the Brody School of Medicine; and Willie Martin, secretary of the ECU Board of Trustees. Also, Dr. Robert C. Morrison, professor of chemistry and chair of the faculty; Diane Murphrey, president of the ECU Educational Foundation (Pirate Club) and vice president of finance for CopyPro; Gregory Brenton Queen, president of the ECU Student Government Association; H.E. “Gene” Rayfield Jr., immediate past chair of the ECU Board of Trustees; Shelby Strother, president of the Alumni Association and of Friends of the Joyner Library; Betty Speir, member of the Executive Committee of the ECU Board of Trustees; and Dr. Louise Toppin, professor of voice in the School of Music. Dr. Phyllis Horns, dean of the School of Nursing serves as secretary to the committee.
The committee plans to make its recommendations on finalists for the position to the full ECU Board of Trustees. The board will then decide on a list of names to present to Molly Corbett Broad, president of the University of North Carolina system. President Broad has asked the board to submit at least three names for her consideration. She will then recommend a candidate for endorsement by the UNC Board of Governors in early spring. The new chancellor will be publicly announced at that time.
The search committee has engaged the services of Dr. Jan Greenwood of the A.T. Kearney Inc. executive search firm. Dr. Greenwood is an ECU alumnus. Dixon said the applicant pool, which included sitting presidents and chancellors, was exceptionally strong and deep.