Day 262: WVU BOG Proposes New Presidential Search Policy

Photo by Tatiana Rodriguez on Unsplash

The WVU Board of Governors today released the text of a new proposed rule governing the search for and selection of a new university president. The new rule would supersede Higher Education Policy Commission (“HEPC”) Series 5 (W. Va. Code St. R. 133-5-1 to -5).

One significant change in the proposed rule involves the search committee, which was optional under the old rule and mandatory under the proposed rule.

Moreover, the new rule expressly provides that “[n]o candidate for the position of President may serve on the search committee.” (Proposed BOG Rule 1.3, ¶ 2.2.1)

The old rule was silent as to the participation of candidates on the search committee. During the 2014 presidential search, WVU announced on January 6 that then-interim president Gordon Gee would serve the search committee as an “advisor and non-voting member” and that Gee was “not eligible for the permanent position.” Eight weeks later, on February 28, WVU announced that the search committee had asked the Board of Governors to “rescind a motion which stated the interim president would not be a candidate for the permanent post.” The Board of Governors announced Gee’s appointment as WVU president on March 3, 2014.

Other changes to the presidential selection process include emphasizing an annual review process by listing it (¶ 5.1) ahead of three-year review process (¶ 5.2). The old policy also required annual reviews (¶ 5.6) but emphasized the three year-review process (¶ 5.1).

A thirty-day comment period on the proposed rule opens March 19.