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Provost Search Committee Update: Open Forums for Faculty and Staff

Provost Search Committee Update: Open Forums for Faculty and Staff

Dear Faculty and Staff Colleagues,

As many of you are aware, the University of Rochester has retained the executive search firm Isaacson, Miller to help with our search for a provost. Isaacson, Miller partners, Peter Lange and Kate Barry, along with senior associate, Bryce Gilfillian, will be working closely with us over the coming months.

Listening sessions will be held in the coming weeks (find below times and Zoom link registration) so the committee and consultants can benefit from your perspective on the University of Rochester, how you would expect to interface with the provost, and what you consider to be the key challenges and opportunities the new provost will face.

Open Forum Times and Links to Registration

A separate forum and communication are being organized for students.

These discussions will help our search consultants learn about the role and gain an understanding of the University’s culture, current environment, and the organizational context in which this provost will operate. In particular, they hope to hear your thoughts on the following:

  • In hiring this person, what will be the fundamental differences at the University of Rochester one year from now, three years from now, and five years from now?
  • Are there more subjective or informal measures for determining the success of the next provost?
  • What institutional activities need to be sustained? Which ones enhanced? Which ones initiated or ended?
  • Based on the objectives identified, what do you think are the qualifications and experience of an ideal candidate? What is essential and what might be helpful? What are the personal attributes most important for this role?

These questions were developed to help us think about the ways that we can tangibly assess candidates and measure the success of a new provost. The search team will also ask for your suggestions of people to contact in their outreach to build a pool of candidates for this position. They will draw upon their own networks but want to make sure they tap into ours, as well. They will welcome suggestions of possible candidates, but suggestions of thoughtful sources who might lead them to strong candidates are just as important.

If you are unable to attend these meetings, please feel free to share your thoughts with the consultants and the committee via this survey. Once they have had an opportunity to speak with our faculty, staff and students, the search consultants will work with the search committee to develop a position profile that will provide a compelling description of the University of Rochester. The position profile will outline the University’s history and mission, as well as a realistic and enticing picture of the challenges, measures of success, and ideal skills, experience, and qualifications of the new provost. When finalized, this document will be made publicly available and will be shared broadly by the search firm with prospective candidates and helpful sources.

Thank you for your participation in this important effort. As a key stakeholder in this search, your input will be important to the outcome of this search and the success of the new provost.

Regards,
Provost Search Committee

Visit the Provost search page for more information

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