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

The PSC, which met most recently on Sept. 12, is responsible for the search for Memorial University’s next president and vice-chancellor. The committee includes faculty, students, regents, staff and community representatives.

Consultations planned

The PSC is embarking on an extensive consultation process to give all community members a voice in the recruitment process. At its latest meeting, the committee confirmed the consultation schedule.

Consultations include meeting directly with constituents, including elected members of Senate, unions (faculty, staff and students), and academic and administrative leaders.

In addition, town halls will be held and there will be an open survey.

Justin Ladha, chair of the Board of Regents and of the PSC, encourages all members of the university community, and beyond, to participate.

“Memorial University is one of the most important institutions in Newfoundland and Labrador and our committee recognizes the importance of hearing from all those who are invested in the success of our university,” he said. “We are looking forward to hearing a range of perspectives to inform the position profile and selection criteria for Memorial’s next president.”

Opportunities to participate

Surveys are available to all community members. They are live and will be open until Oct. 4, 2024. Access to the survey can be found at the following:

• Faculty, staff and students: mun.ca login credentials required
• Other community members

In-person and online town halls:

The PSC is holding five hybrid town halls at four campuses for faculty, staff and students.

For all other community members, there will be a virtual town hall to provide input.

• St. John’s campus (in person and online): Sept. 23, at 3 p.m. (NDT)/2:30 p.m. (AST), Bruneau Centre IIC-2001
• Marine Institute (in person and online): Sept. 25, at 2 p.m. (NDT)/1:30 p.m. (AST), Conference Centre
• Grenfell Campus (in person and online): Sept. 23, at 12:30 p.m. (NDT)/12 p.m. (AST), Arts and Science atrium
• Labrador Campus (in person and online): Oct. 1, 12 p.m. (AST)/12:30 p.m. (NDT), Water and Ice Room

Register here for the faculty, staff and student town halls. If you cannot attend the town hall on your campus, you can join another campus town hall online.

• Other community members (online): Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. (NDT)/6:30 p.m. (AST), visit the PSC website for more information.

Next steps

Once consultations conclude, the PSC will review the feedback to develop a position profile. The profile will be shared publicly when it is available.

The PSC is looking forward to hearing from all community members as they develop the selection criteria to assess candidates for the next president of Memorial University.

Other updates

At the Sept. 12 meeting, a new regent was appointed to the PSC. Bob Hallett (BA’89) fills the vacancy left by Board of Regents chair Justin Ladha, who has moved into the position of chair of the PSC.

The committee also prepared and discussed a draft budget for the search that will be forwarded to the Board of Regents for approval. The PSC is mindful of the costs of supporting the search for a new president and emphasizes the need for attention to budgetary efficiency as part of the process. The detailed proposed budget will be shared once it is reviewed by the board at its October meeting.

The PSC had a robust discussion regarding the degree of openness in the search.

Perrett Laver, the search firm contracted to support the search, prepared and delivered a presentation on the opportunities and challenges of various search approaches.

The PSC members also received information and articles from a variety of authors advocating for and against various types of search processes. The PSC will continue this conversation and will share the results of its deliberations once a decision has been made.

For more information about the PSC and its work, visit the PSC website.