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Final four selected in NIU presidential search

March 12, 2013

Presidential Search Advisory Committee patch finalNorthern Illinois University’s version of “March Madness” is advancing as the final four candidates to be the university’s next president have been selected to return for off-campus interviews with NIU’s Board of Trustees on Friday, March 22.

“This is a critical juncture in the search process, and it comes at a very important time for this university,” said Cherilyn G. Murer, Chair of the NIU Board of Trustees. “The Presidential Search Committee has done a wonderful job of identifying the best candidates to lead NIU for the coming years, and the board looks forward to interviewing each of them and discussing their respective vision for Northern Illinois University should they be selected as the 12th president.”

“We were blessed to have 10 strong, highly-qualified candidates participate in the airport interview phase last week,” said Trustee Robert Boey, who chairs the Presidential Search Advisory Committee. “Now we get to the ‘nitty gritty.’”

Following interviews with NIU’s Board of Trustees, the four finalists are scheduled to meet with different university stakeholder groups Saturday, March 23. Due to the confidential nature of this search, the meetings will be held in closed session to protect the privacy of the candidates.

“In today’s marketplace, a confidential search process that protects the identities of the candidates during the search itself is critical in attracting the best candidates during a presidential search,” Chair Murer stated. The Board accepted the advice and counsel of its executive search firm, Parker Executive Search in Atlanta, Georgia, and adopted a closed, hybrid approach to the presidential search.

Small groups of university stakeholders representing faculty, staff, alumni and foundation board members, as well as community leaders, will have the opportunity to briefly interview each candidate at an off-campus location and provide feedback to the university’s board of trustees. Each stakeholder representative will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement prior to receiving information about each of the four finalists.