The committee, working with the Buffkin Baker executive recruitment firm and Lynn Duffy, senior associate vice president for leadership and talent development for the University of North Carolina System, met for nearly four hours Monday, Jan. 14, at the Ramsey Regional Activity Center to evaluate the current candidate pool.

In addition to discussing individual candidates and qualifications — discussion that occurred in closed session in accordance with the state’s open meetings laws, which permit public bodies to go into closed session to consider the qualifications of prospective public officers or employees — the committee has scheduled three days of off-campus, face-to-face interviews with the 10 candidates.

Following the off-campus interviews, the committee will narrow the field to a smaller number of candidates to bring to campus for visits in February with selected students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni and community members. Participants in those sessions will be required to sign nondisclosure agreements to protect the confidentiality of the candidates. Dates and times for those sessions will be scheduled after the airport interviews.

The WCU search committee is working toward the goal of having a new chancellor named by the end of the current academic year. 

For more information, visit the website chancellorsearch.wcu.edu.