One has a reputation for being a reliable, business-like administrator. Another is heralded for her vision as an innovator and community builder. And a third is seen as an intellectual giant and stern delegator of authority.
The Board of Regents will decide at a special meeting today if Auburn University President William Muse, Portland State University President Judith Ramaley and University of Texas at Austin Provost and Executive Vice President Mark Yudof are the three finalists for the University’s top post. University President Nils Hasselmo plans to retire June 30, 1997.
Currently, the three candidates are designated as presidential advisory search-committee recommendations, but all indications suggest that the regents will name Muse, Ramaley and Yudof finalists. But the regents have said they still reserve the right to select new candidates at any time.
Search committee member and former CEO of Medtronic Inc. Win Wallin called on the regents Monday to reject all three candidates, appoint an interim president and start the search process over again.
Wallin said he and committee members Mahlon Schneider and Thomas Moe are not satisfied with the quality of the candidates, and said the search process is flawed.
Many top-notch candidates were afraid to participate in the process because of a Minnesota law that requires finalists’ names to be made public, Wallin said. Top candidates stayed away because having their names disclosed might jeopardize their current jobs, he added.
Regents Chairman Thomas Reagan said the board would not heed Wallin’s advice. Reagan said the regents would continue working with the current slate of candidates, which he has often characterized as excellent.
Other members of the search committee agree with Reagan. “These are excellent candidates; they deserve a hearing,” said Matt Musel, the student representative on the committee.
Musel said he was upset that some had passed judgment on the candidates before public interviews have taken place on campus. The interviews are tentatively scheduled for the week of Dec. 9. The regents are expected to announce the new president Dec. 19 or 20.