Norfolk State prepares search for new president

By Denise Watson Batts
The Virginian-Pilot
© March 20, 2010

NORFOLK

The search for Norfolk State University's next president will begin soon, Board of Visitors rector Ed Hamm said Friday. But the board doesn't expect to have the job filled until July 2011.

Most of the search details are still in the works, Hamm said, but he hopes soon to have a committee set up to get public input on what the school needs in a leader. The board ultimately will make the choice.

The important thing, he said, "is to find the best president for Norfolk State."

Facing questions about her leadership, President Carolyn Meyers announced earlier this year that she will step down June 30.

An interim may be named by the end of Meyers' term, Hamm said. The board hopes to have a candidate selected by the end of the year and in the job by July 2011.

Hamm made his comments during an NSU board meeting. He also introduced Kim Luckes, the former executive vice president at Saint Augustine's College in Raleigh, who will help with administrative duties as Meyers prepares to leave. Luckes will work with the university until mid-August, Hamm said. The board also voted to hire an outside consultant to conduct a comprehensive review of the school and to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses.

On Thursday, the board met with James V. Koch, a consultant and former president of Old Dominion University, to discuss the search process. Koch suggested that the board consider candidates from non-academic backgrounds or a sitting president.

"The best measure of presidential success is hiring someone with presidential experience," he said.

He recommended a confidential search. Applicants' names could not be released during the process and candidates could not attend forums to be interviewed by the public.

Koch said the board would take heat for doing this, but candidates would appreciate the secrecy. Koch said he would not have applied for ODU's post if it hadn't been confidential, and Hamm, a former rector at ODU, said that board kept the process closed when it hired Roseann Runte to replace Koch.

Koch said searches typically last six to nine months. Then a finalist would have to resign with some notice, usually six months.

Denise Watson Batts, (757) 446-2504, denise.batts@pilotonline.com

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