The board of trustees decided to delay making a decision on how to proceed with AU's ongoing presidential search until later this summer, board and Presidential Search Committee Chairman Gary Abramson said during a briefing following the board's special meeting Wednesday.
The board wanted to see additional information and would decide on how to proceed with the search at another special meeting later in the summer. Abramson said he wouldn't discuss what specific information the board requested.
"It would be the kinds of things that you would normally check out in the course of a normal presidential search for any candidate," he said.
The board meeting came a day after The Eagle reported that two of the three presidential finalists had decided to withdraw their names from consideration. Abramson declined to confirm or deny the information included in the article, which originally came from an anonymous source.
"Technically we can't really speak about it because, as I've said, we haven't concluded any specific arrangements," he said. "During the course of a search you talk to different people, you discuss possible offers, you discuss other aspects. It's just part of the normal search process."
Abramson said he didn't know the exact date of the board's next meeting, but thought it would likely be in the next two to three weeks. He said the availability of board members and others involved in the search process would be a big factor in determining when the next meeting would occur.
While the board's goal is to conclude the search and confirm a candidate so a new president will be in place for the beginning of the academic year in August, it is still possible that it might decide to reopen the search process, Abramson said.
"It's possible, but it's not the intent of the board," he said. "The intent of the board is to bring it to a conclusion in the next two to three weeks."
During the time before the board meets again, constituent groups may hold additional meetings related to the presidential search, Abramson said. During late May and early June, groups of students, faculty, AU's school deans, vice presidents and other university officials met with the three finalist candidates. The student group met with the candidates on three occasions, The Eagle previously reported.
Student Government President Joe Vidulich said he felt it was important to balance the need to choose the right president for the university with a need to complete the process in a timely manner.
