The UC Board of Trustees has made a last-minute announcement that it will hold a weekend meeting to announce the next president of the University of Cincinnati.
UC faculty have consistently made it clear that UC’s next president should have experience in higher education, as well as an academic background, in order to fully appreciate the work that happens at a public university. Hiring a president without that experience would be a serious concern to UC faculty. This practice has failed at other institutions, notably and most recently at the University of Iowa and the University of Missouri.
The presidential search process was billed as being “open, transparent, and collaborative.” Regardless of the outcome, this search has not met those criteria. Instead, the process was shrouded in secrecy and required strict confidentiality agreements by search committee members. The Board of Trustees provided no information on candidates who were finalists for the position, and gave no opportunity for input on candidates by the broader University or Cincinnati communities.
Faculty are left with the impression that the UC Board of Trustees has a disregard—if not outright disdain—for well-established practices, principles and contractual agreements on openness and academic governance in a public university.
The University of Iowa was sanctioned by the American Association of University Professors for “substantial non-compliance with standards of academic government” after its deficient presidential search. It appears that UC presidential was conducted in more secretive manner and with less student and faculty input than the Iowa search.