When search committees set out to find a new leader for their
university, they often have nonspecific qualities in mind, such as
a strong academic background and leadership skills.
In recent years, other common threads in hiring university
chancellors and presidents have emerged, both within the University
of California and nationally.
Though higher-education experts agree that the academic field in
which a potential candidate specializes does not play a major role
in the selection process, all 10 current UC chancellors have some
background in science-related fields.
With two degrees in mechanical engineering and a doctorate in
nuclear engineering, UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale is a prime
example.
But Alberto Pimentel, vice president of A.T. Kearney Executive
Search, Education Practice ““ the search firm hired to recruit
qualified candidates to replace Carnesale ““ said his firm
doesn’t pick candidates based solely on their discipline or
field.
C. Judson King, former UC provost and vice president, and
current director of the Center for Studies in Higher Education at
UC Berkeley, also said that recruiting science-based leaders is not
a specific goal of the UC.
But having a strong foundation in the sciences can be an
advantage when leading large research-based institutions like UCLA,
King said.
“It may mark the fact that many of the issues universities
face at the highest level are one way or another related to
science,” King said, referring to the fact that the
construction of many new buildings is focused on scientific
facilities.
King added that if the chancellor of similar-tier institutions
is not a scientist, other individuals who work closely with the
chancellor are.
“It is desirable to have someone at the top of
administration to know science well,” he said.
The avenues in which to find a potential candidate have expanded
in the past years as well.
Traditionally, individuals who have been deans, provosts and
chancellors at other universities are the primary candidates in
these types of searches.
However, as King explained, “new dimensions are on the
scene.”
“There is some tendency for public universities to go to
people with backgrounds in state politics,” he said, adding
that powerful businesspeople have also been candidates for some
universities.
But King emphasized that the most traditional and most likely
pool of candidates for the UC are people from academic
backgrounds.
Duncan Luce, a research professor of cognitive science at UC
Irvine who served on the selection committee when Carnesale was
hired, hopes that the trend of selecting people outside academia
doesn’t reach the UC.
“I don’t think a business executive will make a good
chancellor,” he said. “(Universities) don’t
operate like businesses ““ they aren’t profit
organizations. There are different values between the business
world and the academic world.”
Another apparent trend in the past several years has been the
increased number of female candidates for high-powered positions
such as chancellor, Luce and Pimentel said. Though UCLA has yet to
have a female chancellor, four out of the 10 UC campuses currently
do.
“(We) tend to see more women being seriously considered in
high positions today ““ it’s been a gradual
change,” Luce said.
As the search for UCLA’s next chancellor heads into its
second month, the 17-member selection committee plans on forwarding
a finalized recommendation to the regents sometime in March.