Contact: Monty Jones, (512) 499-4363

Date: August 12, 1999

Chairman Evans Issues Statement on Search for a New Chancellor

GALVESTON – Donald L. Evans, chairman of the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System, issued the following statement at the board’s meeting in Galveston on Thursday (August 12).

Selection of a New Chancellor for the U.T. Texas System

This is the first meeting of the Board of Regents since the announcement in June by Chancellor William H. Cunningham that he plans to step down from the position of chancellor no later than August 31, 2000. During the course of the next year the Board of Regents will have a number of formal opportunities to thank Bill for his extraordinary dedication to the U.T. System and to all of Texas higher education. We are all deeply grateful, Chancellor, for your many years of distinguished service to this organization, and we are mindful of how challenging it will be to identify a worthy successor. We will be searching for a new chancellor who will bring to this very important position your same level of energy, your broad experience and understanding, and your unwavering commitment to Texas and all who are served by its universities.

There can be no more important role for this board than the selection of a chancellor, the chief administrative officer for one of the nation’s largest and most complex higher education enterprises. We will be devoting a major portion of our time and energy to this responsibility.

In preparation for this challenge, I have acted in my capacity as Chairman of the Board of Regents to issue an official Request for Proposals (RFP) from executive search firms across the nation that specialize in higher education. The purpose of this RFP has been to seek assistance in the identification of the very best potential candidates for this position.

The RFP was sent directly to firms specializing in higher education and has been posted electronically on the Texas Marketplace. Responses will be accepted until August 18. I anticipate that we will have a signed contract by September 1 with the firm selected to work with the board on the search for a new chancellor.

Because of the extraordinary importance of the selection of a chancellor, I am hereby requesting that all members of the Board of Regents serve as a Committee of the Whole to perform the function of a search committee during a process that I foresee as an extensive and exhaustive national search.

It is my recommendation that the board, meeting as a Committee of the Whole, schedule a public meeting with the search firm early this fall to discuss the process of the search, advertising for the position nationally, and the criteria of a successful candidate for the position.

In addition, I will ask the search firm selected to develop a plan for the board to consider whereby all university constituencies can be involved in the process. This will include, of course, faculty members, students, staff, administrators, and alumni, as well as community leaders, business and professional leaders, former regents, and others. In this regard, I will appoint a subcommittee chaired by Regent Tom Loeffler to facilitate discussion with these constituencies.

Our goal should be to conduct an open, inclusive, and thorough search process, consistent with the traditions of excellence in the U.T. System and the prominent role of the system in American higher education. As an example of the open process that we are anticipating, I have agreed with Executive Secretary Frederick’s recommendation that a special, interactive section of the U.T. System’s World Wide Web site be devoted to keeping university constituencies and the general public informed about the search, as well as for receiving comments and recommendations from them. This will be accessible at www.utsystem.edu.

As part of this process, by the way, we welcome the opportunity to hear from the U.T. System Faculty Advisory Council on these and other issues during the board’s annual meeting with the council today at noon.

We are beginning a very exciting and demanding assignment – one that falls to relatively few members of the Board of Regents over time. We must ensure an open process, while also protecting the rights of those who may be considered for this position and working to ensure that we are able to make the very best selection possible. Our work will begin soon, and I expect that it will continue into the spring of 2000. We are fortunate indeed that Chancellor Cunningham will remain on board during this process, and we are grateful that we will have the benefit of his wise counsel as we prepare for the transition to a new chancellor.