University of Albany Holds Interviews For Position of President

ALBANY — The University at Albany has interviewed candidates for president under conditions of strict secrecy in what appears to be the high-stakes endgame of its more than two-year quest for a new leader, sources said.

Since last week, representatives from UAlbany have met with a short list of candidates in confidential off-campus interviews in the Albany area. Two sources familiar with the search said the following people have been contenders:

- David Felten, vice president for research and medical director, Beaumont Hospitals, Royal Oak, Michigan

- Barbara Couture, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

- Ronald Berkman, executive vice president and provost, Florida International University

- Beheruz Sethna, president, University of West Georgia

- Richard Wells, chancellor, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

One member of the UAlbany community involved in the interview process described the candidates as finalists and said the goal apparently is to finish the search as soon as possible, perhaps within two weeks.

The interviews are welcome news for a 17,000-student campus that has lacked a permanent leader since the highly visible Kermit Hall died in August 2006. In the ensuing time, uncertainty bedeviled the search for his successor. Three governors have led New York since Hall's death. SUNY, the country's largest public higher education system, has been without a permanent chancellor since 2007. And UAlbany absorbed a budget cut of 14 percent, or $11.5 million, in the 2008-09 fiscal year as the state faces a worsening financial crisis.

Still, some criticized a search one UAlbany employee described as more "covert" than ever before. Some feel the secrecy goes against SUNY guidelines stating that "when the finalists are scheduled to visit campus, their names are released to the public, along with general information about their background and qualifications."

Instead, even interviewers were not given candidates' names in advance during the recent meetings, said one UAlbany employee with knowledge of the search. They were asked to sign agreements pledging not to disclose the candidates' identities. They were given biographical material to read but could not take it with them.

SUNY's board adopted "guidelines" for presidential searches rather than "strict mandates," said system spokesman David Henahan, because each is unique and there has to be flexibility. UAlbany spokesman Karl Luntta said late Thursday: "We followed a process consistent with guidelines for a presidential search. Beyond that we're not going to comment."

But search committee chair Daniel Tomson, writing in a Jan. 21 search update on the school's Web site, said plans were under way "for the short list of finalists to meet with representatives of UAlbany faculty, student, staff, Foundation and Alumni constituencies. In order to retain these high quality finalists and to protect their positions in their present institutions, the search committee has established the provision that the finalist interviews will occur with a condition of complete confidentiality and discretion."

Physics professor William Lanford, a member of the University Senate who has not participated in the candidate interviews, said he had mixed feelings.
"While I'm a bit uncomfortable with that process, if the old process wasn't working, I'd rather they try something new," he said. "We hired Kermit Hall with a public process ... If we can get someone of comparable qualities, I'll be delighted and won't care about the process."

UAlbany has spent more on headhunters than Hall's $280,000 starting salary. It burned $185,565 on the first firm and is now paying more consultants $157,620.

Tough budget decisions won't be the new president's only challenge. They will take over an institution anxious to rise from the third to the first tier in the undergraduate category of the U.S. News & World Report's rankings. UAlbany also wants to reach the front rank of SUNY's university centers.

Its graduate programs in fields like public policy, sociology and criminal justice have placed high in rankings and the nanotechnology college was named No. 1.

But UAlbany has lagged behind some of its SUNY rivals in attracting top students. Fifteen percent of freshman had a high school class rank in the top tenth of their graduating class, compared with 49 percent at Binghamton.

All five contenders either declined to confirm their candidacies or did not respond to messages by deadline.

Marc Parry can be reached at 454-5057 or by e-mail at mparry@timesunion.com.


The candidates

Richard Wells: Chancellor and professor of sociology, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh ... provost and vice president of academic affairs at Indiana State University for eight years ... recently finished term on NCAA Division III Presidents' Council.

Barbara Couture: Senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and professor of english, University of Nebraska-Lincoln ... won award for book, "Toward a Phenomenological Rhetoric: Writing, Profession and Altruism" ... on editorial boards of three academic journals.

Ronald M. Berkman: Executive vice president and provost for academic affairs, Florida International University ... dean of academic affairs, City University of New York, from 1992-94 ... taught at Princeton University and Brooklyn College ... has frequently appeared as commentator on CNN.

Madhavi Beheruz Sethna: President, University of West Georgia ... also professor of business administration ... master's degrees from Clarkson and Columbia ... started career as teacher for multiply handicapped children in Canton, N.Y. ... technology volunteer for three Olympic Games.

David L. Felten: Vice president for research and medical director, Beaumont Hospitals ... was dean of the school of graduate medical education at Seton Hall University ... was undergrad at MIT ... professor and chair at University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

— News Research Director Sarah J. Hinman

By MARC PARRY, Staff writer
First published in print: Friday, February 6, 2009