Thursday, September 4th, 2008

Chancellor talks continue today

Advisory committee faces tighter deadline after top candidate dropped out 5 weeks ago

The advisory committee for selecting the next UCLA chancellor will meet concurrently with the UC Board of Regents’ Committee on Educational Policy today to continue talks regarding matters related to the appointment of UCLA’s ninth chief executive.

University of California spokesman Paul Schwartz said the concurrent meeting between the Committee on Educational Policy and the advisory committee is “standard protocol and part of the ongoing process” in looking for the next chancellor.

“Nothing will be finalized or announced at this meeting,” he said.

The closed three-hour meeting is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at the Tom Bradley International Center.

The advisory committee, formed last December, has been responsible for reviewing and interviewing prospective chancellor candidates for the past seven months.

Five weeks ago, Deborah Freund, provost at Syracuse University, was reported to be the top candidate and was said to have been in salary and compensation negotiations with UC President Robert Dynes.

However, Freund withdrew several days later, prompting the advisory committee to reconvene and continue their work under a tighter deadline, since current Chancellor Albert Carnesale is due to step down from his position on June 30.

In an earlier interview, Alberto Pimentel, vice president at AT Kearney, the firm hired to recruit candidates for the search, said though the advisory committee will need to reconvene, they will not have to start from “ground zero.”

The advisory committee forwards its recommendation to Dynes, who will then present the regents with his selection for final approval.

Though the next scheduled meeting of the regents is July 19 to 20, the regents could call a special meeting or teleconference at any time to vote to approve a chancellor or discuss any other business.

Voting on a candidate outside of regularly scheduled meetings is not unheard of.

When approving Carnesale as the chancellor in 1997, the UC Regents voted by teleconference.

According to a press release by the UC Office of the President, seven regents on the advisory committee are members of the Committee on Educational Policy.

Though this meets quorum for the Committee on Educational Policy to convene and vote, no business relating to educational policy will be discussed.