New President almost decided

Posted by admin on Feb 7, 2006 in News | 0 comments

Only two candidates remain in the running to take over the presidency of Trinity Western University. This revelation came last Friday when Presidential Search Committee Chairman Reg Peterson addressed
faculty.

“My sense is that either one of these two [candidates], I think you would be overjoyed with,” said Peterson.

These two candidates were selected from an initial group of 19 by the Search Committee.This Committee represented three constituents of the university—the Board of Governors, alumni, and faculty—and included Dr. Bob Burkinshaw and Prof. Andrea Soberg.

Peterson had only positive things to say about the Search Committee and the faculty who were involved.

“The Committee needed their [Burkinshaw’s and Soberg’s] input,” he said. “The decision of the Committee was better because of their involvement.”

As this Committee has now fulfilled its mission, the remaining aspects of the Presidential Search will be turned over to the Presidential Selection Committee, whose purpose is to select one of the two remaining candidates. The Board will make the final decision to legally appoint a candidate.

The Committee includes five members of the Board and Dr. Burkinshaw. Both Burkinshaw and Soberg were invited to sit on this Committee; however, Soberg declined as she has gone on sabbatical. The Committee will meet with the two candidates on March 2 and 3 for final interviews. Until then, the Committee will obtain credit and criminal record checks for each candidate, and subject each to a psychological test. Representatives from the Evangelical Free Churches of America and Canada will also have the opportunity to interview the candidates.

After the Selection Committee has made its choice, the presidentselect will be introduced to campus on March
16.

Faculty, staff, members of Student Life, and TWUSA Executive will have an opportunity to meet with the president-select before the Board of Governors makes their final decision. The purpose of the meetings, said Peterson, is to gather input.

“We want you to come and ask questions,” he said. A member of the Board will attend and record each of these meetings. The records of these meetings will be presented to the Board before it comes to its final decision on the evening of March 16.

After hearing this report, Dr. Dennis Jameson, Vice President of Academics, commented, “It would help us if we knew the Board would really read those questions.”

Peterson confirmed the questions would be taken seriously, to which Jameson replied, “That is a very positive turn of events for us.”

Professor Rick Sutcliffe, Chair of the Faculty Association, agrees. Last Tuesday, he put forward a proposal to the Board requesting that faculty, students and staff have an opportunity to interview the new president before he is chosen.

“A week ago, we thought we would get nothing,” he commented after the meeting with Peterson. “As far as I know, this represents a new direction for the Board.”

Dr. John Klassen, a history professor at TWU for 30 years, echoes his sentiments.

“Good faith has been shown by the Board in bringing Andrea [Soberg] and Bob [Burkinshaw] back on the Selection Committee,” he said.

“Until recently, we were told not to communicate with the Board, except through the President, but that’s changing,” added Klassen. “It’s sort of a revolution, but it’s a good revolution.”

“This commitment to transparency is very encouraging,” commented Dr. Grant Havers, philosophy
professor.

“It is our intent to be more open,” said Jon Addington, a Board member who facilitated the meeting. “It’s really never been our intent to be closed. It isn’t something that is a change of heart, but creating the mechanisms is new.”

Addington mentioned the possibility of having ongoing forums, saying that the Board was “very interested in
that.”

“What we want to do is know the people,” he added, “to the best extent that we can, and we want people to know who we are.”

According to Addington a decision has not been made on whether President Snider will be made Chancellor after he officially finishes his term on June 30.

Fellow Board member, Gary Inrig, said, “We want the next president to be the president.” This comment was greeted with applause from the 35 to 40 people who attended the meeting. This number includes five members of the Board of Governors.

At this time, the identities of the remaining candidates are to be confidential, so as to protect them in their current positions.