Shirley Raines has not volunteered to accept her nomination fora new job in Knoxville, but she's not out of the running yeteither.
With an April 3 deadline looming, nominees have less than amonth to decide if they will vie for the top post at Tennessee'slargest university.
As of Friday, University of Memphis president Shirley Raines isstill in consideration for president of the University ofTennessee.
Following the brief -- and costly -- reign of former UTpresident John Shumaker, the presidential search committee formallyannounced the open position on Dec. 12, 2003, and began acceptingapplications and nominations.
Prior to her formal nomination, Raines issued a statement inNovember 2003 responding to her being mentioned for the openingposition at UT Knoxville.
"I am deeply honored that my name has surfaced as a potential UTpresident, since I am a graduate of the University of Tennessee,"Raines said in a written statement. "However, I have been at TheUniversity of Memphis only a short time, and I am committed tohelping this University become one of America's great metropolitanresearch universities."
The presidential search committee Web site lists the nominees inthe order they were received. Shirley Raines is number six on thelist.
The current list of nominations includes 73 people who may ormay not have received notification of their nomination. However,Raines has been made aware of her nomination, said Gabrielle Maxey,U of M communications coordinator. An additional list shows 25candidates who have submitted applications and resumes forconsideration.
Other notable nominees as of March 5 for the position includeJim Phillips, director of the FedEx Institute of Technology; RalphHorn, retired chairman of First Tennessee National Corporation;Former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson; and John Vines, CEO of CampbellClinic.
The list includes nominees who have declined consideration forthe position, and Raines has not formally declined hernomination.
"She has not indicated to us whether she will be a candidate ornot," Margaret Perry, executive director of the presidential searchcommittee, said.
Raines holds a Ph.D. in education and a M.S. from the Universityof Tennessee at Knoxville. She also holds a B.S. from theUniversity of Tennessee at Martin.
"The last date we will accept applications for the position isApril 3," Perry said. "After that, the board of trustees still hasthe power to turn the process back if they decide that there are noacceptable candidates."
A compensation package for the new president is within the$400,000 - $500,000 range, with incentives that will be finalizedby UT board of trustees executive committee, members of thepresidential search committee said.
"I like Shirley Raines," said Kahla Rowell, sophomoreadvertising major. "But I'd say go where the money is. You have todo what you can to advance your career."
The search advisory committee will meet in Nashville April 5 toselect six to 10 candidates to be interviewed. The committee willthen interview candidates from April 13 to April 15. The UT boardof trustees will interview no fewer than three recommendedfinalists and make a decision by April 21.
Raines officially took the office of president at The U of M onJuly 1, 2001. Before coming to The U of M, she was dean of theCollege of Education at the University of Kentucky for six years.She also served as vice chancellor of academic affairs during herlast two years there.
"I usually think of university presidents as staying around for10 or more years," said S. Julian Jenkins, junior photographymajor. "Three years doesn't seem like a long time, but I guess itdepends on how happy she is here."
