Athabasca University (AU) is beginning its hunt for a new president and hopes to have the successful candidate in office by May 2014.
AU Board of Governors chair Barry Walker announced Aug. 8 that current president Frits Pannekoek will step down after eight years in the role.
Pannekoek is three years into his second five-year term at the helm of AU. He announced in March 2013 that he would be retiring but would stay on until his replacement was found.
Though Pannekoek’s presidency has been controversial in some quarters — two university unions passed votes of non-confidence in Pannekoek’s leadership last spring — Walker characterized Pannekoek’s leadership as strong.
“Under his leadership, the university has not only surmounted … challenges, but has gone from strength to strength and is today recognized as one of the foremost e-learning institutions in the world,” Walker stated in an AU press release.
In May, the AU Board of Governors rejected a proposal from the Athabasca University Faculty Association (AUFA) in which the union suggested faculty elect an interim president from within its own ranks.
Walker will strike a presidential selection committee consisting of more than 16 people, including vice-presidents and representatives from faculty, staff and student unions, as well as two non-voting members.
The committee ensures diversity and equity amongst candidates, establishes selection criteria, makes a long list of potential candidates, compiles a shortlist of no more than seven interviewees, formulates questions, conducts interviews and makes a recommendation to the board.
A recruitment firm will be hired to assist with the process, and AU’s presidential selection policy mandates that the search must be international in scope.
Details of the job description, including pay, have yet to be firmed up.
“The position profile will be developed by the selection committee after broad consultation with constituent groups taking place in September 2013,” stated Nancy Biamonte, director of marketing and communications for AU.
In 2012, Pannekoek’s base salary combined with cash and non-cash benefits totaled $540,000.
