Inside the Search Process

Thursday, December 6, at 12 noon, U.S. Eastern time

Jan Greenwood has seen the search process from both sides of the hunt. A former university president herself (at Longwood University and then the University of Bridgeport in the 1980s and early 1990s), she has been a search consultant since 1992. Now president of Greenwood & Associates Inc., a search and consulting firm, Ms. Greenwood and her colleagues handled recent presidential searches at the University of Florida, the University of Texas at Austin, and Washington State University. Her firm is now managing searches for 30 positions at colleges around the country.

A transcript of the chat follows.

Paul Fain (Moderator):
    Hello and welcome to the Brown Bag. I'm Paul Fain, a staff reporter at The Chronicle. I'm happy to introduce Jan Greenwood, a veteran search consultant and former university president. Thanks to Ms. Greenwood for taking the time to join us. Now to the questions. Please keep them coming.

Question from George, mid-size state university:
    I am looking to for a new position as dean of a college of education. I am a full professor and have served several years as chair of a large department. Any advice about the kinds of credentials or experiences I should emphasize in my application letter? During the initial screening process, what are search committees looking for (e.g., experience, vision, management skills, other)? And, if I get invited for a campus interview, is the visit simply about chemistry?

Jan Greenwood:
    Examples of your accomplishments that match the position description in the areas of leadership and vision, management such as budget and size of staff, resource development, work on university-wide committees and projects are important to include in your materials. The entire search should continuing building on the requirements in the position description. Interviewing skills are important when you receive that opportunity.

Question from Jim, large state university in Illinois:
    What are the biggest blunders an applicant can make during three critical stages of a search: (1) the application cover letter, (2) the phone interview, and (3) the on-campus interview?

Jan Greenwood:
    (1) Typos, not using the correct name of the university, using university letterhead stationary, too long a letter, too much use of "I" and/or "we", not creating the interest for the reader to want to read the next sentence in the letter.

(2) In my experience, very few universities use phone interviews for senior level searches. For any interview, the problems in response to questions include not answering the question you were asked, not providing specific examples of accomplishments and your role, not identifying how your experiences match the stated needs (in the position description) of the university, not creating a conversational approach, not doing your review of information before the interview.

(3) Potential problem areas include lack of executive presence, energy level, issues involving your partner if there is one, not conveying your enthusiasm and willingness to accept an offer.

Question from Anonymous, large public research university:
    Under what circumstances is it advisable to seek formal leadership development opportunities, such as those offered by ACE and the CIC? And when is it not?

Jan Greenwood:
    These leadership development opportunities always add value to your experiences. They can be strategically significant when you have been in one university for over 10 years.

Question from From Kentucky institution:
    We recently hired a new dean for our medical school. A search firm handled the process. Only two applicants visited the school. Only one was introduced to the faculty. That one was appointed interim dean in July and made permanent Dean in November. With the exception of search committee representation, no faculty or associate dean input was requested or given about the candidate. We have been told that there was only a small field of persons who fit the requirements, and the search firm conducted the search by--we believe--contacting a list of names provided by the former dean. To the best of our knowledge, no advertisements were posted.

What is your opinion of this?

Jan Greenwood:
    It would be inappropriate for me to comment on the work of another firm. Each firm and consultant has a different approach to the work it does and we always tailor our work to the requests of the client.

Question from Paul Fain:
    Can you tell me the benefits (and drawbacks) of having a closed search for a president, versus an open one?

Jan Greenwood:
    Confidential vs. public searches:

This topic is discussed as a process question in almost all searches for presidents. In the early 1990s through today, potential candidates who were already presidents resisted being in public searches for another presidency. Their reasons were because of examples where presidents were fired for looking at other career opportunities and/or they lost legislative and/or donor funding for looking at other career opportunities. These are real-life examples. One question for the boards and search committees to answer is if they want candidates who have demonstrated track records as presidents in their pool. There is a large talent pool of presidents who will be retiring within the next 10 years. These candidates are considered in the research as lower risk if they have a demonstrated track record that matches the requirements of the position description. If the Board decides it wants to have options for presidents as well as candidates from other backgrounds in their pool of candidates, they will be able to keep their options open through a confidential process. As with all searches, and especially confidential ones, effective, timely, and appropriate communication with the campus must take place.

Question from Jane, small public university:
    How important are background checks in the search process? Do you hire private investigators?

Jan Greenwood:
    They are critically important. Referencing as part of this process is the most reliable predictor of an effective leader. Credit and criminal checks, driving record, employment verification, litigation search, newspaper article searches, etc. are all part of the background check. Universities reserve the option to do checks based on fingerprints, hire PIs, and firms such as Kroll to complete the work.

Question from Don Jeffrey, small private school:
    What kinds of fees do these firms charge? Are they all inclusive or is there a surprise on the invoice?

Jan Greenwood:
    Each firm has its own policy. The market standard is one third of the first year's compensation (for the person hired) is the fee to the search firm, plus an overhead charge, plus reimbursements for expenses for which there are receipts.

Question from Amy, college trustee:
    The Chronicle has an article today about the resignation of Occidental's president after 18 months on the job, citing a leadership style incompatible with that of the board chair. How do recommended colleges explore leadership style and compatibility in presidential searches?

Jan Greenwood:
    Through referencing.

Question from Sarah, BGSU:
    What advice do you have for a first-time job seeker on how to determine proper "fit" while looking at the job description, researching the institution, and on the campus visit?

Jan Greenwood:
    For a good fit, match your skills and experiences with the requirements in the position description....

Question from Jeff, midwest state university:
    I'm currently a full professor but prior to taking my current position I worked in industry for about 20 years and served as a VP and CEO of small companies and consulted for a number of large companies. I think I would like to move into academic administration. Do you think it's necessary for me to "work my way up" in academic positions (chair, dean)? In other words, how useful is my industry management experience in academic administration?

Jan Greenwood:
    Your industry experience can add value to your candidacy if you have met the requirements for the position as stated in the position description. The requirements will vary based on the type of dean, VP, and president positions for which you want to be considered. The three basic skill and experience sets are leadership and vision, management, and resource development.

Question from Jeff, small community college:
    Does the use of search firms vary between 2-year and 4-year institutions?

Jan Greenwood:
    The larger and more complex institutions often use search firms for strategically important positions (could be an endowed chair), positions they have been unable to fill (could be a faculty position), deans, VPs, and presidents. Smaller institution often use search firms for the executive level searches. There is not so much a two/four-year split. More institutions are using search firms because of the intensity of the work and the network.

Question from grad student (potential new faculty):
    1) What is wrong with using university letterhead ... for a new Ph.D. or for a fixed-term faculty member searching for a job?

2) How strict are "deadlines"? If a month has passed since they started "reviewing" but no strict deadline, should I skip that one? Two months?

Jan Greenwood:
    1) Letterhead: It is not appropriate for you to use your university resources to apply for a new job at a different university. Some search committee members will not consider candidates who use university letterhead.

2) Deadlines have meaning if stated as "the deadline is..." Otherwise, the search is opened until it is closed.

Question from Kevin from a regional campus of a large university:
    As one "climbs the ladder" of administrative posts towards an appointment as a president, is it possible to stay in one position for too long? What is the optimal duration for being in a position? Is there an optimal time period for staying at one institution?

Jan Greenwood:
    General observation is it takes five years in a position to demonstrate what you have accomplished. If you have been in the same position for 10 years, can you demonstrate that it has changed and offered new challenges to you? If you have been in one institution for over 10 years, have you been active beyond your institution ... internationally in your discipline and/or administrative speciality?

Question from ted, large public:
    To what extent does the candidate get to address any issues that may arise from background checks/investigations, "off list" references, etc? And, who handles that -- the consultant, the search committee, other?

Jan Greenwood:
    My recommendation is that you discuss specific issues with the search consultant before background checks are started. No surprises! Many candidates believe they have "something that needs to be explained." Be honest and strategic in how you respond. Ask yourself, if the search committee called people at random and reached supporters and those people who do not support them, what would they hear?

Question from Bill, a California state university:
    Is it better to be nominated for a presidency or is it okay to apply directly?

Jan Greenwood:
    Be nominated by someone who has worked with you and is in a comparable position to the one you are seeking. The nomination should be specific enough to incorporate referencing content.

Question from Beth, Urban Comprehensive University:
    I'm currently a sitting dean, but would like to move up to provost. I'm not a "traditional" candidate -- I have spent a good portion of my career outside of academe (in very senior positions). How do search committees approach other than traditional backgrounds? Thanks for your time

Jan Greenwood:
    You need to demonstrate that you match the requirements as stated in the position description. The provost position usually requires that you are a full professor with tenure and have been a department chair and dean.

Question from Kellie Weiss, doctoral candidate in the humanities:
    My questions has two parts. I am a predoctoral fellow who is about to embark on a career in academia. I hope for my path to eventually lead to a leadership role at an institution of higher education (vice president/president, dean) after I earn tenure in my department. Do you have any advice for those of us just starting out? Anything that we should be doing now to prepare for later? Also, I was wondering if you have any advice specific to women candidates. What are the pitfalls for women, and what qualities and background do we need to be competitive?

Jan Greenwood:
    To do list: Full professor with tenure, distinguished record of scholarship

Roles: Department chair, dean, provost, president

Skills and experiences: Leadership and vision, management, resource development, work across disciplines and organizational boundaries, responsible for budget and employees

Paul Fain (Moderator):
    With that answer we'll wrap it up for today. Thanks again to Ms. Greenwood for joining us. Here's a link to her firm's Web site: www.greenwoodsearch.com/home.htm

Thanks also to all of you for your questions. This will be the last Brown Bag until January. We hope you'll join us again in '08.