Eight candidates were selected Wednesday night by the Tennessee Board of Regents and The University of Memphis presidential search advisory committee to be interviewed Nov. 28 for the presidential position.
Faculty Senate President Bill Gutzke, who is also on the presidential search committee, said the meeting started the interview process.
"It determined who would be part of the airport (campus) interviews," Gutzke said. "This is the first round of selecting finalist for the position."
The candidates selected were Oliver McGee, U.S. deputy assistant secretary for transportation technology policy with the U.S. Department of Transportation; John Morgan, vice president of university advancement for the University of Alabama at Huntsville; Louis Paradise, executive vice chancellor and provost of the University of New Orleans; Nicholas Henry, a professor at Georgia Southern University; Shirley Raines, dean of education at the University of Kentucky; Roger Bowen, the president of State University of New York at New Paltz; Richard Ringeisen, vice chancellor at East Carolina University in North Carolina and Daniel Rodas, assistant vice president at Duke University.
Interim President Ralph Faudree and Dean of Communication and Fine Arts Richard Ranta, the only two local candidates, were eliminated from the upcoming interviews.
During the meeting, committee members debated adding Rodas and McGee to the list of candidates because of their experience. The issue of race was another factor that disturbed members including Maxine Smith.
Smith said the selection of the only African-American nominee, Oliver McGee, was the right move for the community.
"With the Memphis community being 50 percent African-American," Smith said." We needed to select an African-American to be interviewed for the position of president at The University of Memphis."
The meeting was one of several that have been conducted by the committee in the last two months due to an e-mail sent from faculty members who expressed a need for a more diverse list of candidates.
The initial list was 10 candidates in length and was submitted by the headhunting firm, Heidrick & Struggles. The president's position was vacated by V. Lane Rawlins in May.
The selection criteria for the position includes a candidate having a doctorate from an accredited institution, a record of teaching and research experience in a university environment, a minimum of five years successful campus administrative experience at a level with significant decision-making responsibilities affecting an entire campus, a demonstrated commitment to serving students, an understanding of and commitment to the principles of academic freedom, tenure and shared governance and other criteria as set by the TBR.
TBR committee chairman Jack Fisherman said the committee will interview the candidates first and then shorten the list after the initial interviews.
"The interviews of Nov. 28 will be with the committee," Fisherman said. "Then we will set a date for the second round of interviews to include faculty and staff. The candidates will then be presented to the students for a question and answer session."
