Searching for Mr./Ms. Right

And then there were five.

The Board of Trustees sent an email to the UVM community Jan. 13 announcing the five finalists vying to be the University's 26th president.

While the presidential search has been an ongoing process, Vice President of Student and Campus Life Tom Gustafson said that the final candidates are only being revealed now because of the job security issues that can accompany this type of hiring.

"We keep it secret out of respect and privacy for the candidates," he said. "Some candidates might be thinking ‘I have a 20 percent chance of getting the job, should I go public with this?'"

Gustafson said that candidates could face negative consequences from the institutions that they are currently employed at by publically applying for another job.

Now, the final five are going to participate in individualized open forums held in the Davis Center that the entire community can attend.

After that, the Board of Trustees will decide who will be president.

"The board will meet on the fourth and fifth of February and negotiate on who they want," Gustafson said. "Expect an answer by the end of February."

So, who are the candidates?

Dr. Sabah Randhawa will be the first to visit campus, and his open forum will be from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Jan. 19. Randhawa is the current provost and executive vice president at Oregon State University (OSU). Essentially the president's right-hand man, Randhawa oversees OSU's budget planning and the University's strategic plan. He also serves as the chief executive officer of OSU in the president's absence. An OSU graduate, Randhawa has a B.S. in chemical engineering and an M.S. and Ph.D. in industrial engineering.

Next, Dr. Meredith Hay's open forum will be held on Jan. 23 from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Hay is currently serving as the executive vice president and provost for the University of Arizona, a position she has held since 2008. Before that, she was the vice president for research at the University of Iowa. Hay hails from Texas and attended the University of Colorado at Denver where she earned a B.A. in psychology. She went on to attain her M.S. in neurobiology from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and her Ph.D. in cardiovascular pharmacology from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio. Hay has led an extensive career in the fields of physiology and neurobiology. She is also a current special advisor to the chair of the Arizona Board of Regents for Strategic Initiatives.

Then, Dr. E. Thomas Sullivan, the current provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Minnesota, will meet the UVM community on Jan. 25. Sullivan is also a professor of law, and served as dean of UMN's Law School from 1995 to 2002. In his lifetime, Sullivan has been an author, a trial attorney, a consultant to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and a visiting professor at Georgetown University, the University of Chicago and New York University. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from law school at Indiana University, where he was also the editor of the Indiana Law Review.

Dr. Robert Palazzo's open forum will be held the very next day. Born in Abruzzo, Italy, Palazzo received his B.S. and Ph.D. from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He is a current professor and chair of the biology department at Renesselaer Polytechnic Institute, and also formerly served as RPI's provost. Palazzo has worked at the Marine Biological Laboratory, has served as a research scientist for the Wadsworth Center with the New York Department of Health, and is also a current member of the Scientific Advisory Board for Scientific American Magazine.

Finally, the interview process concludes with Dr. Thomas Apple, who will be leading his open forum on Jan. 30. Dr. Apple earned his B.S. in biology from Pennsylvania State University and his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Delaware. He is currently a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Delaware, where he has also served as the dean of Arts and Sciences as well as provost. Dr. Apple has authored many articles in professional journals and has given lectures across the globe. He has also been a reviewer and panelist for the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy.

In short, the candidates are going public and the presidential hunt is approaching its end. Students and faculty are encouraged to attend the open forum sessions and decide for themselves who the better candidate is.

More information on all candidates can be found on the Presidential Search webpage on the UVM website. And stay tuned for the Cynic's featured report on each of the five finalists in upcoming issues.