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Dear OSU Community Members,

At its meeting today, the Board of Trustees discussed feedback received from a retrospective review of the 2019 presidential search process and unanimously affirmed the Board’s intention to hold an open search for OSU’s next president. It is the Board’s intention that this would entail announcing finalists, providing an opportunity for broad community engagement with finalists, and soliciting feedback on finalists before the Board makes its final decision.

While the Board will not set details for the next search until the fall, trustees believed it was important at this time to provide understanding of how the search will enable community engagement with finalists.

We hope this statement provides an immediate sense of the Board’s intentions with respect to naming finalists and increased opportunity for community involvement.

The retrospective review was launched earlier this month and has provided trustees an important opportunity to hear from faculty, staff, students and stakeholders, and consider what went well in the last search process and what might be done differently in the future. Feedback was gathered through an online survey, as well as virtual workshops that included trustees, those who participated in the last search process, members of a Faculty Senate ad hoc committee on presidential searches, and other participants.

The Board will continue to gather input and information to help inform the next search, including evaluating the results of an independent, external review of the due diligence of the last search, as well as considering recommendations anticipated in June from the Faculty Senate.

It is clear from the retrospective review that the university community is deeply invested in the process and outcome of the next presidential search. We appreciate the many individuals who engaged in the retrospective review, and we look forward to continued engagement with all of you as we move forward.

Best,

Rani Borkar

Chair

OSU Board of Trustees

Send Date: 
Friday, May 21, 2021