The Board of Trustees has narrowed its search of candidates for Auburn's next president to an employee of the University.
Chris Roberts, dean of Auburn's Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, was the only candidate to be named in an email from Trustee and executive chairperson Wayne Smith. Roberts will be visiting Auburn and Auburn University Montgomery on Jan. 20 and 21, respectively, to meet with students and faculty.
Auburn students, faculty and staff received a campus-wide email update on the presidential search process from Smith Friday morning. Smith shared important news about the University’s search for its 21st President.
“As we have mentioned several times during this process, selecting a president is one of the most important decisions any university board of trustees can make,” Smith said. “I am pleased to report the following information about our progress.”
Smith denoted that the board has screened over 60 “qualified individuals” in the past few months. Of these, the committee selected 15 applicants who would speak with the advisory committee prior to the holidays. After further conversation, five were selected to meet with the Board of Trustees in early January.
“Of those five diverse individuals, one withdrew from the process and three were found especially qualified for academic leadership,” Smith said.
These three individuals were recently asked to come to campus for the benefit of the Auburn Family, who would be assessing their match for the position of president. Two of the candidates informed the search committee that they would not come unless they were informed of the results first; Smith said that only one individual was willing to come to the University without knowing the outcome. This individual was Dean Chris Roberts of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering at Auburn University.
Smith said he has asked the Office of the Board of Trustees to coordinate a visit for Roberts in Auburn and Montgomery on Jan. 20 and 21, respectively. The precise schedule will be released in the next few days but will include public meetings with various Auburn constituencies.
“Please know that your input during the pending visit is very important to the Board,” Smith said. “We ask that you make every effort possible to meet Dean Roberts during his visit and to share your thoughts with us following the visit.”
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