Presidential search guidelines

Washington State law vests the Board of Regents with the responsibility for appointing the President. See RCW 28B.30.150(2). The Regents consider the selection of the President to be their most important responsibility, and the search process to be one of their best opportunities to help guide the institution into a successful new era.

These guidelines are designed to assist the Regents in meeting their responsibility in a manner that is responsive to the leadership needs of the institution and the public it serves, and to provide a general procedural framework for the search and selection of the institution’s next President.

Presidential search process guidelines

• The search will be conducted in a professional, efficient, and timely manner. While a reasonable objective would be to have a President named no later than the end of Spring Semester 2016, any timeframe should in no way impinge on the overarching goal of the search, which is to find an excellently-qualified candidate for the position who is the right fit for the institution.
• The Board will respect and protect candidate confidentiality to the fullest extent allowed by law, while making every effort to ensure that the search process is transparent and as open and inclusive as possible, with opportunities for input from the entire university community.
• The search shall be conducted with an awareness of the diversity of the university community and its constituencies and shall proceed in accordance with equal opportunity principles and affirmative action guidelines.
• The Regents will strive to appoint a Presidential Search Advisory Committee that is both manageable in size and includes members from a wide variety of backgrounds, expertise, and perspectives, including representatives from major university constituencies.
• The Board of Regents will use a professional search firm to provide overall guidance to the Committee, assist with the development of the position and institutional profile documents, recruit and evaluate applicants, and work closely with the Committee to ensure a smooth and efficient search process.
• The Committee will work with the search consultant retained to develop procedures to be followed for the recruitment of candidates and for the Committee’s evaluation of candidate qualifications. Through its procedures, the Committee will:
  • Conduct the broadest search possible to attract a highly qualified and robust candidate pool, and
  • Function as members of a team dedicated to the objective of identifying and recommending to the Regents for consideration a small number of presidential candidates who meet the criteria set forth in the position and institutional profile documents.
• The Presidential Search Advisory Committee and the search consultant will act in an advisory capacity only and will not have authority to take action on behalf of the Board of Regents.  The Board reserves the right to reject any recommendations and has sole authority to carry out the final selection and appointment process.
• The Board may deviate from these guidelines to the extent allowed by law and in its sole discretion, in order to identify and recruit qualified candidates or to make the selection for the presidency.