UNC president addresses ECU search committee

Molly Corbett Broad, president of the 16-campus University of North Carolina, told the chancellor search committee at East Carolina University Friday (June 2) that its timetable could give it an advantage over other campuses that may be looking for a chief executive during the coming academic year.
Broad, addressing a committee meeting at the Brody School of Medicine at ECU, said, “Because you are getting started early, you will be at the front end of the (search) cycle.”

Dr. Richard Eakin, chancellor at ECU since 1987, announced in April that he plans to retire next year. Broad said she wants the committee, through the ECU Board of Trustees, to send her three unranked names to choose from. Her nomination for a chancellor then must be elected by the UNC Board of Governors.

The 15-member search committee, which held its first meeting last month, plans to conduct a series of public forums over the summer to gather input on a job description for the new chancellor. Phillip Dixon, chair of the committee and of the ECU Board of Trustees, said the panel intends to place advertisements for candidates early in the fall semester. Broad told the committee that there are three important dimensions of choosing a chancellor: the paperwork, including candidates’ letters and resumes; the interview process; and the due-diligence process, including thorough reference checks.

“I assure you that I will do due diligence on the three finalists,” she said. She said that the classic candidate would be a chief academic officer at a comparable institution. She also said that outstanding candidates could be found outside academe.