Those passionate about Mississippi State University are consistently expressing disagreement with the confidential presidential search process the Institutions of Higher Learning currently uses.State Rep. Steve Holland, (D-Plantersville) is one of the more vocal legislators in favor of making the search process more transparent.
He said the process, especially the final stages, should be more open because everyone involved with the university should be included.
“It would keep the IHL Board from looking so arrogant,” he said. “It would heal a lot of the wounds that seem to exist between the present committee and the maroon family.”
Holland contrasted the current search process to that of a Baptist church’s for a pastor. Prospective pastors often perform an evaluation sermon before they are hired, he said, so the congregation has a say in the selection process.
“I don’t know many Baptist churches that would be fed a pastor from the church committee,” he said.
In Thursday’s monthly IHL meeting, board member Ed Blakeslee said the decision to change the search process is not solely Commissioner Thomas Meredith’s.
“I think everyone inside and outside of this room needs to understand the board makes this decision, not Tom Meredith,” Blakeslee said.
Part of the reason applicants’ names are kept under wraps is to protect their current positions, Meredith said.
“If you told your spouse there might be someone you like more than her and if you went on a date with someone else, she’d be upset,” he said. “Would you want to take the chance of losing your current job when the new job isn’t assured?”
Holland said he wholeheartedly disagrees with the concept of applicant job protection.
“I don’t see the situation they’re talking about. If that applicant is insecure, we don’t want him here,” he said. Holland said he plans on participating to the highest level in seeing that transparency is restored to the search process.
“It’s elitism by the College board at its finest,” he said.
In an IHL meeting held Wednesday, Holland and others petitioned for change concerning the current presidential search policy.
He said he is going to put a condition on legislative funding that will require the board to make the process transparent.
“After they come down to the [final] three to five candidates, I want to know,” he said.
Faculty Senate President Robert Wolverton said his group is seeking a more transparent selection process, but he remains uncertain of how the board will act.
“If the same process is used again, the official search committee will be assembled by the IHL board and will probably include some campus representatives,” he said.
Wolverton said he remains doubtful that the presidential process will change.
“We will simply have to wait and see what process the board will follow and let it be known that we on campus should play a significant role in that process,” he said.
Wolverton said before the current, more confidential search process, there was an ad hoc advisory campus committee consisting of Faculty Senate members. Even though the committee was advisory in nature, it was able to solicit nominations and send them to the board’s committee.
“Obviously, we are not in control of the process. That is the board’s task,” he said. “The board should know that on this campus, there is much expertise which could be of tremendous help.”
Student Association President Braxton Coombs said input from MSU faculty, staff and students is essential in the search for the next president.
“We are the ones who understand the character of our university,” he said. “Our influence on the selection of our next president has the potential to make Mississippi State even greater than it has ever been.”
Senior mechanical engineering major David Adams said it would be beneficial for students and faculty to be familiar with the potential candidates.
“If the general public is aware [of the candidates], then it gives feedback from the campus to the powers who are making the decision,” he said.
Junior biological science major Jessica Summers said she recommends that a committee of students be educated on MSU’s presidential requirements and the president’s job description as well as information on the candidates. Having this knowledge will enable them to make a more informed decision, she said.
“I think that the student voice is important in the selection of the next president because this decision will affect our experience as well as the quality of the education we will receive at MSU,” she said.