FGCU Presidential Search Advisory Committee Wednesday, October 19, 2016

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 FGCU Presidential Search Advisory Committee Wednesday, October 19, 2016 Conference Call Meeting Originated from Edwards Hall, Room #309 Florida Gulf Coast University Minutes Members: Present: Trustee Ken Smith Chair (in person); Trustee Robbie Roepstorff Vice Chair (in person); Mr. Dick Ackert (conference call); Dr. Tim Allen (in person); Mr. David Call (conference call); Mr. Harry Casimir (conference call); Mr. Lindsay Harrington (conference call starting at 9:55 a.m.); Dr. Madelyn Isaacs (in person); Dr. Sharon Isern (conference call); Mr. Edward Morton (conference call); Ms. Pamela Noland (conference call). Not Present: Ms. Nicole Catalfamo; Trustee Thieldens Elneus; Dr. Bob Gregerson; Mr. Charles Winton. Others: Trustees: Chair Dudley Goodlette. Staff: Vice President and Chief of Staff Susan Evans (in person); Associate General Counsel Lisa Jones (conference call); Director of Board Operations, and Special Projects Amber Pacheco (in person); Director of Media Relations Lillian Pagan (in person); Project Manager Danielle O Brien (in person); Executive Assistant to the Vice President and Chief of Staff Tiffany Reynolds (in person); and Staff Writer Drew Sterwald (in person). Guests: Witt/Kieffer Consultants (conference call) Ms. Lucy Leske; Mr. Robert Luke; and Ms. Veena Abraham Item 1: Welcome, and Opening Remarks Chair Ken Smith called to order the Presidential Search Advisory Committee meeting at 9:01 a.m. Roll call was taken with 10 members present by phone or in person, thus meeting quorum requirements. He welcomed Ms. Lucy Leske, Mr. Robert Luke, and Ms. Veena Abraham from executive search firm Witt/Kieffer. Item 2: Consent Agenda (Tab #1) Chair Smith listed the one item on the Consent Agenda as the Minutes of the September 6, 2016 Meeting. Dr. Madelyn Isaacs made a motion for approval. Dr. Tim Allen seconded the motion. There was no public comment. The vote was unanimous in favor of the motion. 1

47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 Item 3: Update from Search Consultants Witt/Kieffer Chair Smith asked Ms. Lucy Leske, Senior Partner for Witt/Kieffer s Higher Education Practice, to provide an update on the FGCU Presidential Search. Ms. Leske said there have been a lot of high-level individuals interested in the position, and she expects to see an uptick in applicants the week leading up to the best consideration date of November 8. She said there are a number of people who are still considering applying and expects those individuals will send in their materials closer to the November 8 date. Ms. Leske said the firm has seen interest from sitting presidents and provosts from both public and private universities, as well as chief fundraisers, chief student affair officers and sitting deans. Ms. Leske said she is encouraged by the overall positive impression of FGCU and its tremendous success, as indicated by parties interested in the position, and she looks forward to talking with the Committee about the candidate pool on November 10. Chair Ken Smith said there has been a lot of conjecture about the FGCU Board of Trustees decision on the contract for the next president. He clarified that when he used the term no contract it was used as a descriptor and in comparison to a multi-year contract when it was presented to the Board. Chair Smith said a year-to-year contract will be offered, and he s been informed that the Board s decision on the contract has had little to no effect on the quality of the pool of potential candidates Witt/Kieffer has spoken to. He asked Ms. Leske to elaborate on this. Ms. Leske confirmed that she had provided this feedback to Chair Smith. She added that if a president was not performing, his or her appointment would be at risk, regardless of the term of the contract. Chair Smith reminded the Committee that the FGCU Board of Trustees made the decision that the next president will have a year-to-year contract with a five-year longterm incentive program. He added that the Board s decision was made after a robust conversation. Mr. Dick Ackert expressed concern that the University will not attract top-level candidates by offering a year-to-year contract. Ms. Leske responded that the firm is having good conversations with people who are expressing interest in the position and the long-term incentive plan is a very attractive feature. She said the type of contract is not limiting their conversations in any way that is impacting the quality of the candidate pool. Dr. Sharon Isern said her faculty colleagues have expressed serious concerns about the year-to-year contract, specifically that it will limit the candidate pool. 2

93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 Chair Smith said that the same concerns were voiced when the decision was made not to offer tenure for FGCU faculty when the University first opened, and the performance has shown that to not be the case. He said a number of faculty members have shared their thoughts and believe the year-to-year contract is a wonderful idea. Dr. Madelyn Isaacs said she has also received a lot of comments about how the contract decision reflects on faculty and the presidential search. She said in her experience in being part of hiring committees, not having tenure did reduce the applicant pools. Dr. Isaacs asked Chair Smith for clarification regarding the FGCU Board of Trustees decision to empower FGCU Board of Trustees Chair Dudley Goodlette to negotiate the contract with the new president. She asked that if the year-toyear contract proved to be an issue, could it go back to the Board to be revisited. Chair Smith said the term of the contract is not up for discussion during the negotiations. Chair Smith added that he understands the concerns, but does not understand how the president s contract is reflective on the faculty. He said he believes the contract will attract a high caliber individual who will move the University forward in a positive way. Ms. Leske said the contract has not limited the quality of those who are expressing interest in the position, but there are a number of individuals who will not apply because it is a public search. She said most of the people they are talking to are fine with the one-year contract with the long-term incentive program. Dr. Isaacs asked Vice President and Chief of Staff Susan Evans if the Committee would have the opportunity to consider candidates who apply after the best consideration date. Ms. Evans said if someone is a serious candidate, they need to have their paperwork in by November 8, even though others can apply after this best consideration date. She further noted that when the Committee advances a minimum of three unranked qualified candidates, the Committee s work is complete until or unless the FGCU Board of Trustees Chair asks the Committee to continue its work, which could be requested if the Board does not select one of the candidates or the Board of Governors does not approve the candidate selected. FGCU Board of Trustees Chair Goodlette said the FGCU Board of Trustees cannot select a candidate that has not been put forth by the Presidential Search Advisory Committee. Chair Smith said if the concern is that there is a predetermined candidate who will be selected president, it is incorrect. He said it is the executive search firm s job to help the Committee find a candidate. He added the search is an open contest and will remain that way. Mr. Edward Morton thanked Chair Smith for his leadership. He said no one will ever know whether or not the pool would have been broader with a more traditional contract 3

139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 approach. He asked that if the final candidate is stuck on certain contractual issues, does the FGCU Board of Trustees have flexibility to reconsider the contract term if the Board believes it is in the best interest of the University. Chair Smith said the decision was that the FGCU Board of Trustees Chair would work within the confines of the contract decision, but would come back to the Board if there was a meaningful need to discuss the terms outside of what was put forth. FGCU Board of Trustees Chair Goodlette echoed Chair Smith s statement. Chair Smith reminded the Committee that Tuesday, November 8 is the date advertised for best consideration, and the search firm has indicated to expect heavier than usual application activity on that day. He said the Committee will meet on Thursday, November 10 at 8:30 a.m. and the job that day will be to select the candidates the Committee wishes to interview the following week on November 17 and 18. Dr. Isaacs asked how the Committee plans to look at the candidate pool on November 10. Ms. Evans said Committee members will receive an Excel spreadsheet that lists all the candidates in alphabetical order. On November 10, Committee members are expected to come prepared with their thoughts on candidates they feel strongest about who are fit for the position based on qualification and experience. She said in the past, the Committee first goes through the candidate names. The candidates who have the most support will move on to a shorter list. With this narrowed pool, the Committee will then discuss and decide on the candidates it would like to invite to the University for an interview. Ms. Evans said it is critical that the Committee s review process be completed by each Committee member prior to the November 10 meeting. She recommended the Committee mark November 9 as a day to review applications, as it had been indicated many applications will be posted on November 8. Dr. Isaacs asked what will be on the Excel spreadsheet. Ms. Leske said the spreadsheet will reflect categories from the minimum criteria stated in the advertisement or position profile. She provided Experience in a Large Complex Organization as an example. Ms. Evans said executive search firm Witt/Kieffer will provide the spreadsheet soon so Committee members can begin their review process. She said she will email it to the members after it is finalized by Witt/Kieffer. Chair Smith said Committee interviews with the selected candidates will be held on Thursday, November 17 and Friday, November 18. He said it was previously discussed that candidate interviews would be held on November 17, followed by forums for all the 4

185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 candidates on November 18. He said when these tentative plans were discussed with Witt/Kieffer, Ms. Leske recommended that the Committee use both November 17 and 18 for the candidate interviews. He said on November 18, upon completion of the last candidate interview, the Committee will meet to select and advance a minimum of three qualified, unranked candidates to the FGCU Board of Trustees. Chair Smith said the candidate forums will now be held on Wednesday, December 7 and Thursday, December 8 so students, faculty, staff and community friends will have an opportunity to meet and hear from the candidates and provide feedback on them prior to the December 9 FGCU Board of Trustees meeting. He said it is optional for Committee members to attend the campus forums on December 7 and 8, but they are welcome. He said all are invited to the FGCU Board of Trustees interviews with the top candidates on December 9. Chair Smith asked Ms. Leske what type of vetting process will take place before the Committee meets on November 10. Ms. Leske said the firm anticipates who the strongest candidates will be and plans to prepare for any questions the Committee may have about them on November 10. She said they plan to do their best in gathering as much information as possible on candidates between November 10 and the interviews, which include verifications of degrees and employment. She said they plan to complete the candidates reference checks by December 9. Dr. Isern expressed concern about the forums being held on December 7 and 8. She said it may not be enough time to receive constituent feedback and may give the perception that the feedback may be unwanted. She asked if it would be possible to hold the forums on December 1 and 2. Ms. Evans said the forum timeframe is similar to the 2007 Presidential Search and allows for the community to spend a more concentrated time with the candidates who have been advanced to the FGCU Board of Trustees. She said those who attend the forums can complete a form where they may provide their impressions and views on the candidates. She and her staff will scan the forms and send them to the FGCU Board of Trustees prior to the December 9 meeting. Ms. Evans said all candidate interviews will be live-streamed on November 17 and 18. Also, tapes of the interviews will be posted on the Presidential Search website. Ms. Evans said when the FGCU Board of Trustees meets on December 9, Presidential Search Advisory Committee Chair Ken Smith will provide a Chair s report to the Board prior to candidate interviews. She said an important part of that report is to summarize the feedback received. 5

229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 Dr. Isern asked what is the best way to share the feedback she receives from faculty and staff with other Committee members before the FGCU Board of Trustees meets on December 9. Ms. Evans replied that she needs to think about it because the Sunshine Law requires a noticed meeting when two or more members discuss or review the candidates. She said her sense is that it would be better to utilize forms from the forums, but will need time to think it through from the Sunshine Law perspective. Mr. Ackert asked how the interviews will be conducted. Ms. Evans said each candidate will receive the same questions in order to ensure consistency. She said because of live-streaming and media coverage, Ms. Leske has indicated that the questions will be given to the candidates in advance of the interviews. She said it hasn t been decided if each Committee member will ask a question or if the Chair will ask all of the questions. There were no further questions. Item 4: Public Comment There was no public comment. Item 5: Old Business There was no old business for discussion. Item 6: New Business There was no new business for discussion. Item 7: Chairs Closing Remarks, and Adjourn Chair Smith said he looks forward to working with everyone in finding the next president of FGCU. He thanked the Committee for attending the conference call meeting and looks forward to seeing the Committee again on November 10. The meeting was adjourned at 10:23 a.m. Minutes submitted by Danielle O Brien, Project Manager. 6

275 276 277 278 279 280 281 Agenda Items: A. http://www.fgcu.edu/presidentialsearch/uploads/meetings/agendas/agenda%20 PRESIDENTIAL%20SEARCH%20ADVISORY%20CMTE%20MTG%2010.19.16. pdf B. http://www.fgcu.edu/presidentialsearch/uploads/meetings/materials/agendapa CKET_10-19-2016%20(PSAC).pdf 7