Southern Arkansas University Board of Trustees met today to discuss personnel changes regarding the SAU presidential search.
After calling the meeting to order, board chair, Erica Woods, called the roll of board members, and all were present.
Board members then exited into executive session. Upon returning from the session, the board chair, Erica Woods, reconvened the group.
Board member, Jason Sullivan, made a motion to accept a resolution to move forward with a search committee to help with the selection process of the next president of Southern Arkansas University. Nate Evers seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously.
Vice President for Administration and General Counsel, Roger Giles, highlighted the key factors of the approved resolution. He reported that the Board of Trustees selected board member, Monty Harrington, as the search committee chair. The committee will formulate the parameters of the search process with various resources from the campus. Giles was named as the contact person for the application process.
Erica Woods presented a statement from the Board regarding the decision to proceed with a search committee. Woods noted that various options for conducting the search for the SAU president were considered. The value of using an executive search and recruitment firm was discussed. Factors that were considered included the cost of hiring a firm, the responses from the recent request for proposals for the executive search/recruitment firm, and the ability of a University committee to conduct the search. It was mentioned that of the past three presidential searches, a consulting firm conducted one, and two were selected with the University handling the search. Woods reported that all of these searches successfully demonstrated the ability of SAU to conduct presidential searches. Based on these considerations, the Board concluded that moving forward without hiring a search firm is the best option for the upcoming 2024 presidential search process.
A motion was made for adjournment, and the meeting was concluded.