On behalf of the Presidential Search Committee (PSC), the Board of Regents is writing to share an update with the Memorial University community.

The PSC is responsible for the search for Memorial University’s next president and vice-chancellor. The committee includes faculty, students, regents, staff and community representatives.

The PSC met twice in October: first on Oct. 22 and again on Oct. 30. Central to this meeting were discussions to finalize (1) the advertisement for the position and (2) the process by which the hiring will take place.

On Oct. 22, the committee reviewed the results from the analysis of the community-wide consultations that took place from Sept. 18-Oct. 4. These consultations included in-person and hybrid town halls, targeted meetings and an online survey. All members of the university community were offered the opportunity to share their perspectives.

Perrett Laver, the search firm contracted to support the search, analyzed the results of the consultations and identified themes heard from participants. All summarized feedback was anonymized. You can read a summary of the consultations on the PSC website.

“I’m proud of our Memorial community,” said Justin Ladha, chair of the Board of Regents and of the PSC. “We had strong participation during the consultations, and we received some very meaningful input. The community is passionate about this place and about selecting the right president. We are using what we heard to inform the position profile and hiring process for our next president.”

The PSC also reviewed a draft of the position profile and job description for the next president and vice-chancellor. The committee expects it to be finalized soon.

Hybrid search

On Oct. 30, the PSC established that it would conduct a hybrid search that operates in a manner to protect the confidentiality of candidates as best it can while providing representatives of the university community with an opportunity to participate in the short-list process.

At the short-list stage, separate, representative groups will be invited to discussions with the short-listed candidates.

The members will include representatives from the following constituencies: elected members of Senate (including students); the Board of Regents (including students); students (including representatives from those elected to the student unions and from the general student population); and both unionized and non-unionized staff.

Each small group will have an opportunity to engage in discussion with the candidates on various topics.

These discussions will occur with the candidates at the final stage of the competition and the groups will provide feedback to the PSC for its consideration in the selection process.

The next meeting of the PSC is scheduled for December.