The University of Virginia’s presidential search committee on Monday began narrowing the field of more than 60 candidates vying to be UVA’s next leader to a handful who will be invited for in-person interviews later this month.
The pool of candidates has continued to grow, John Isaacson, chair of the search firm Isaacson, Miller, told the Special Committee on the Nomination of a President. Interest in the position has increased following the recent agreement UVA reached with the U.S. Department of Justice.
“We have heard concern in our listening sessions that the decisions around the Compact (for Excellence in Higher Education) and then the (federal) agreement might keep candidates away, and that we should slow down,” Isaacson said. “The opposite is, thankfully, true.”
“In the last 10 days, we have seen a flurry of interest,” Isaacson continued. “Most of our new candidates have come recently, in particular after the agreement. In a historically difficult time for higher education, UVA remains unusually attractive – more so, it appears, than our competitors who are doing searches now. It is a tribute to the strength of the University.”
Isaacson reiterated to the committee members that they “are on track” and are following the same general timeline and process as the University did to select Jim Ryan, who became the University’s ninth president in 2018.
The search process, Isaacson said, has mirrored the best practices his search firm has used to recruit and hire presidents for colleges and universities nationwide.
Rachel Sheridan, rector of the Board of Visitors, told UVA Today the candidate pool includes top leaders from well-regarded institutions across the country. Isaacson told the committee that the pool remains “the envy of any search in the country.”
Sheridan also thanked the committee members for the many hours of work they have put into the effort, including holding 39 “listening sessions,” reviewing the 1,300 comments that came to the committee through an online survey, and analyzing the qualifications of the several dozen candidates who have applied.
“I know there’s been a lot of homework, and everyone in the University community should appreciate the efforts that you are taking to really focus on these candidates, their quality and what this would mean for UVA,” Sheridan said.
In a lengthy closed session on Monday, the committee narrowed the field to a smaller number of candidates that the committee members will meet in person later this month. Those interviews will be held in an undisclosed location to protect the confidentiality that UVA has promised the applicants.
Sheridan said the upcoming in-person candidate interviews will be the next step in a process that will ultimately produce a short list of finalists for the Board of Visitors. The board will make the final decision.
