Search committee sets dates for public hearings

The East Carolina University Chancellor Search Committee, meeting for the first time on May 11, 2000 scheduled six public hearings to help draft a job description for the university’s next leader.

The 15-member panel, headed by Phillip R. Dixon, chair of the ECU Board of Trustees, also decided to request proposals from executive recruiting firms to assist in the search. Dixon said the public hearings will allow interested individuals to suggest desirable qualities and experience in the new chancellor.

Dr. Richard R. Eakin, who has been chancellor for 13 years, announced last month that he plans to retire next year. The committee set hearings for 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on June 21, for 7 p.m. on July 12, and for noon and 7 p.m. on Aug. 16. The hearings will last up to two hours each and sites will be announced later. Sign-up lists will be available for persons who wish to speak. Dixon said committee members will also write to many individuals and groups soliciting input for preparing a profile of the kind of person the panel will be looking for.

“I’m happy to consider anybody from anywhere as long as we have an exceptional candidate,” he said.

University of North Carolina President Molly Corbett Broad will address the committee at its next meeting on June 2. Once the search is completed, the Board of Trustees will forward the names of at least two finalists to Broad for consideration. The new chancellor, upon nomination by the president, must be elected by the UNC Board of Governors, the policy-making body of the 16-campus University of North Carolina.