Graphic by Kavish Harjai/WSN
From the Square: Presidential search committee, listening times announced
With John Sexton’s 14-year tenure as NYU President scheduled to end in May 2016, the Board of Trustees has initiated the search for a new president, ...
Sep 13, 2014
With John Sexton’s 14-year tenure as NYU President scheduled to end in May 2016, the Board of Trustees has initiated the search for a new president, establishing a Presidential Search Committee comprising trustees, faculty, deans, students and one administrator.
William Berkley, the incoming chair of the Board of Trustees, was appointed leader of the committee and has since announced the first search committee meeting to be held on Sept. 15.
“We are committed to creating a search process that generates confidence as well as draws upon the insight and wisdom of the many facets of our community,” Berkley said in a statement on Sept. 4.
The committee will hold listening sessions for faculty on Sept. 16 and Sept. 30, students on Sept. 19 and staff and administration on Sept. 30 to provide a forum for students and faculty to express their opinions on the next university president.
Associate professor Dimitri Landa said NYU should look to other universities as inspiration for the search.
“[Ask] people at other universities that are NYU’s peer institutions,” Landa said. “When they’re doing presidential searches, do their search committees look roughly like our search committee?”
Stern sophomore Alejandra Segovia said she would like a president who listens to what the students want and mentioned the increasing costs to attend the university as an ongoing concern.
“Like many other students, [I wish the president would] give more financial aid, maybe stop the expansion that is causing so much as increasing tuition and such,” Segovia said.
Other concerns include how the committee will represent the whole NYU community as a unitary factor. The ratio of board members, students and faculty on the committee is meant to minimize disproportionate representation of ideas and preferences in selecting a new president.
Professor and coordinator for the search committee and professor Ellen Schall said the committee is excited to hear the opinions of members of the NYU community.
“Any presidential transition is an important event in the life of an institution,” Schall said. “I know the members of the Committee are looking forward to hearing from members of the university community, and to finding a superb successor for John Sexton who will continue NYU’s extraordinary academic advancement.”
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