AIDAN POLLARD
News Editor
After the departure of President Horvath, SUNY Fredonia is in need of a non-interim president.
Currently, the office is held by Interim President Dennis Hefner as the school searches for a new president.
The process took a leap forward last Wednesday, when the presidential search committee was announced.
Included as the student representative for the committee was Seth Meyer, political science major and Student Association president.
“Representation from the students for this search is pivotal, because the university exists to foster an environment for students to excel and students should be able to have confidence that a right leader for the job will be chosen,” said Meyer. “I’ve been listening to the students from the beginning, and I will continue listening to their grievances, suggestions and feedback in this search process.”
The search will be conducted on a national scale, and the university is currently in the process of finding an executive search firm to help the committee.
The search for the new president will begin immediately after a search firm is identified, according to a campus-wide email from the university. The email said the firm should be announced within the next few weeks.
Some stability comes with having a former president serve as the interim while the search is being conducted, but there are large issues facing the school, and the search is still important to the university.
“Chairperson Pagano, the chancellor and the rest of the leadership really wants to get the ball rolling on this,” said Meyer. “With reaccreditation in our midst and a financial deficit to tackle, we’re looking to have a long-term leader at the helm with a thorough, full-steam-ahead process.”
The search will be conducted confidentially, meaning the candidates will have anonymity when they apply and the names of the finalists will not be released. There will also be no open forums when candidates come for campus visits.
The confidential search comes after SUNY saw success in size and strength of candidate pools from confidential searches. SUNY has since mandated that all state-op SUNY schools must utilize confidential searches when looking for new university presidents.
“I think it’s a great idea,” said Meyer.
“Echoing the words of Mr. Pagano,” said another search committee member, “the ability to keep the candidates confidential will encourage more, hopefully, well-qualified candidates to apply without fear of retaliation from their current employers.”
The search committee consists of 19 members made up of professors, department chairs and administrators alongside Meyer. There are two non-voting members on the committee: Assistant to the President Denise Szalkowski and SUNY Vice Chancellor for Human Resources Paul Patton.