By Dick Mason
Observer Staff Writer
Who will be Eastern Oregon University's next president?
The answer may be known in less than two months.
A new president may be named in November, according to
Tim Seydel, EOU's assistant vice president for university
advancement.
"The goal is to have someone named by mid-November,'' Seydel
said.
The search committee is adhering to the time line established for
it this spring by Richard Jarvis, chancellor of the Oregon
University System. This time line calls for the new president to
take Eastern's reins in early January.
"We have a rich and deep pool of candidates,'' Seydel said.
"There are some great candidates who are very promising and excited
about Eastern.''
The search committee is seeking a successor for Phil Creighton,
who served as president for five years before leaving this summer to
become president of Pacific University in Forest Grove.
Each of the finalists for the position will be interviewed on
campus in November. The finalists will meet with faculty, students
and the community. The public will have a chance to meet the
finalists at this time.
The State Board of Higher Education will later appoint the next
president.
The search committee is chaired by Phyllis Wustenberg, a member
of the State Board of Higher Education. Wustenberg lives in Bay
City.
The committee is being assisted by the search firm of A.T.
Kearney Education Practices, an East Coast company.
Dixie Lund is serving as EOU's interim president. Lund is
Eastern's dean of distance education.
Lund is not a candidate for the presidency. Jarvis stated earlier
this year that he does not want interim presidents to be candidates
for the permanent president's position.
He said that it is harder for an interim president to do his or
her job when the individual is also a candidate.
The committee is being assisted by the search firm of A.T.
Kearney Education Practices, an east coast company.
Dixie Lund is serving as EOU's interim president. Lund is
Eastern's dean of distance education.
Lund is not a candidate for the EOU's presidency. Jarvis stated
earlier this year that he does not want interim presidents to be
candidates for the permanent president's position. He said that it
is harder for an interim president to do his or her job when the
individual is also a candidate.
