Ohio University President Roderick McDavis will finish his 13-year term as university president in about a month.
Before he leaves to become a principal at AGB Search, a higher education search firm in Washington, D.C., the university will select an interim president.
Later this semester, the Board of Trustees will decide on a new president. The university currently has four finalists for the search.
McDavis announced in March he would step down from his position as OU president when his contract expires June 30. He started his presidency in July 2004 and is currently earning $500,000 for the 2016-17 academic year.
Jan. 10: Duane Nellis Forum
Former Texas Tech University President Duane Nellis spoke Tuesday in Baker Ballroom about his goals for diversity and transparency on campus.
Nellis began his career as a geography professor but has spent nearly 27 years in administrative roles within higher education. He currently serves as University Honors Professor at Texas Tech.
More than 200 faculty, students and staff attended the first of four open forums featuring the candidates.
Nellis discussed his desire to listen to concerns and comments from faculty, students and staff.
“I believe strongly in what a university represents in being respectful of the spectrum of opinions and positions, and I want to create an inclusive environment,” he said.
He also spoke about athletic spending, saying it is an important part of the university but needs to be balanced with academics.
Nellis declined to speak to the media following the event.
Jan. 12: Dean Bresciani Forum
Bresciani, the president of North Dakota State University, will speak Thursday in Baker Ballroom.
He’s served as president at North Dakota State since 2010. The university had a total of 14,432 students for Fall Semester.
Bresciani has also previously served as vice president for Student Affairs at Texas A&M University and spent part of his career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was the interim vice chancellor for Student Affairs and associate vice chancellor for Student Services.
He holds a Ph.D. in higher education-finance from the University of Arizona, a master's in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University, and a bachelor’s in sociology from Humboldt State University. His forum is scheduled for Jan. 12 from 4:30-6:30 p.m.
“These open forums are a vital part of the process to allow candidates and the university community to interact with one another and help determine the appointment of our next president,” Board of Trustees Chair David Wolfort.
Jan. 13: Robert Frank Forum
Frank served as the president of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from 2012 to 2016.
He decided not to seek a second term as president and recently had a conflict with the university’s Board of Regents, according to the Albuquerque Journal. He left his office at the university in early January and is currently on sabbatical.
The university had a total enrollment of 27,060 students for fall 2016.
Previously, he served as provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs at Kent State University. He holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of New Mexico, the same university he earned a master’s and bachelor’s degree.
Jan. 17: Pam Benoit Forum
OU’s executive vice president and provost will fill in the last open forum slot.
Benoit has served as executive vice president and provost of OU since 2009. In that role, she helps oversee academic programs, budget planning and research, among other tasks.
All deans report to her, and she also assists McDavis and the Board of Trustees in university planning.
Before coming to OU, she worked as vice provost of Advanced Studies and dean of the Graduate School/interim dean of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri.
She holds a Ph.D. in communication from Wayne State University, a master’s from Central Michigan University and a bachelor’s in speech/English from Ball State University.
In 2015, after being named one of four finalists for the chancellor position at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Benoit withdrew from the search. Also in 2015, she was the sole finalist for the chancellor position at the University of Colorado Denver, but was not selected for the job. CU Denver President Bruce Benson said the university couldn’t find a candidate with “vast support.”
Jan. 20: Announcement of Interim President
OU’s Board of Trustees is expected to announce an interim president to fill McDavis’s void at next week’s meeting.
Wolfort said he does not expect McDavis’ early departure to affect the search process.
“The Board of Trustees has been well prepared for this development,” Wolfort said in a news release. “I foresee no changes in our search timetable and look forward to the inauguration of the 21st president of Ohio University.”
Feb. 17: President McDavis's Final Day
McDavis will spend Feb. 17 as his last day as OU president after he announced he would be leaving early to head to AGB Search.
AGB Search focuses on higher education leadership, conducting executive searches in partnership with colleges, universities, systems, boards and related foundations across the country.
“This opportunity with AGB Search came forward faster than I expected it to and Deborah and I did not feel it was a position I could turn down,” McDavis said in a news release. “I would not have accepted this position if I did not have the full support of the Board of Trustees or if I felt it would negatively impact or destabilize the university in any way. We have a very strong team in place from faculty to staff, administrators, deans, and executive leadership and the university is poised in a very strong position of continued success.”
March: New President Chosen
The university will select from the four finalists in March, according to a scheduling worksheet from the university’s search firm, Witt/Kieffer.
According to the worksheet, the Board of Trustees expects to interview the finalists in mid-February. The board could also begin negotiations for employment terms and conditions then.
July 1: New President Takes Office
Whomever the board appoints will take the office as OU president July 1, the day after McDavis’s contract was set to expire.
“We are fortunate to have been given ample time to conduct this search and thankful to outgoing President Roderick J. McDavis for his foresight and thoughtfulness in giving us 16-month advance notice,” Wolfort said in a letter about the search to the OU community. “It is our goal to have a new president selected prior to Dr. McDavis leaving office at the end of his contract on June 30, 2017, in order to guarantee a smooth transition.”
