Presidential Search Forums Planned for Campus

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 24, 2011) – As part of the effort to get feedback from the entire campus community, the search committee for the University of Kentucky’s 12th president will hold forums next week for faculty, students and staff.

The forums will be held Friday, Jan. 28, in the auditorium at W.T. Young Library. The forums are scheduled as follows:

* Faculty forum from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.

* Student forum from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

* Staff and administration forum from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Faculty, students and staff will have the opportunity to provide direct feedback to search committee members, who will be in attendance, about the attributes they think are important in the next president. In September, UK’s 11th president, Lee T. Todd Jr., announced plans to retire at the end of June, following 10 years at the helm of Kentucky’s flagship, land-grant institution.

For those who cannot attend the forums, each event will be live streamed on UKNow, the university's news website. You can access UKNow at www.uky.edu/uknow. Or, those interested can follow on Twitter with the hash tag #search4UKpres. In addition, questions can be submitted via e-mail on the day of the event only at pres-searchforums@email.uky.edu.

Following the forums, the Presidential Search Committee will hold a meeting at 2:30 p.m. in the 18th floor Board Room of the Patterson Office Tower.

"The forums provide a concrete, direct way for the search committee to receive feedback from students, faculty and staff. We want to hear what attributes and characteristics they are looking for in UK's 12th president, particularly as we look to build upon the outstanding leadership and work of President Todd,” said Britt Brockman, chair of the UK Board of Trustees. “No one knows the campus, in all its diversity and complexity, better than students, faculty and staff. So, the opportunity to gather all of the search committee at once in a setting such as this to hear directly from those most impacted by a new president is a critically important opportunity.”

Brockman said he expected the forums to be “informal” and “free-wheeling.” A moderator will be in place simply to facilitate the flow of questions, both from audience members and those watching the live-stream and participating online.

Search Committee Chairman Jim Stuckert said the campus forums are a critical way to ensure that all voices are heard as the Board of Trustees seeks someone to continue the progress made under President Todd during challenging economic circumstances.

"These types of forums are very important to the process. Having served on the last presidential search, I can tell you the feedback we received on campus and throughout the state really helped us as we began to evaluate the pool of candidates and applicants,” Stuckert said. “We were able to hear firsthand some of the concerns, the needs and the hopes that people on campus and throughout the Commonwealth had for their flagship university.”

In addition, Stuckert said new avenues of technology will create the potential for even greater participation and input from the breadth of the campus community.

“What's exciting this time is that with technology we'll be able to offer the opportunity for feedback to the entire campus. People can attend forums or they will be able to watch a live stream and even submit questions from other locations on campus,” Stuckert said. “At the end of the day, it's also important that the entire campus, as much as possible, feels like the voices of everyone are heard in this process. That's difficult to do, obviously, as not everyone can be involved in an interview. But everyone can have their input. Everyone can provide their feedback. These forums are one more way -- an important way -- to ensure that feedback and input are provided in a timely and useful way."

As the search continues for the University of Kentucky's next president, search committee members hope those interested in the progress of the search will visit and "Like" the official UK Presidential Search Facebook Page, www.facebook.com/UKPresidentialSearch. This page features the latest information and encourages discussion and feedback to help the presidential search committee in their endeavors.

Those interested can also visit the official search website at http://www.uky.edu/PresidentialSearch/. On the site, there is background about the search, key dates and milestones in the process, and a blog by Brockman, the board chair.

MEDIA CONTACT:  Jay Blanton, (859) 257-6605; jay.blanton@uky.edu.