The search is on to find Carleton’s 15th president before Alastair Summerlee’s interim term is up.
A Presidential Search Committee has been formed to accomplish this task, and it has the power to appoint the next president, according to Carleton guidelines.
Chris Carruthers, the chair of the committee, said the group is excited to figure out just what the school wants in its future leader.
“We’re at what we would call the listening and engaging [stage], and we want to hear from many stakeholders,” Carruthers said. “We want to find out what the challenges are and what folks think the skill set for the next president of Carleton University should be . . . what we should be looking for.”
Carruthers listed many groups in the committee’s list of stakeholders, including both undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and the greater Ottawa community. Carruthers said listening to so many opinions is a daunting task, so the search committee has planned four town hall sessions in mid-October.
The committee is urging community members to attend the meetings and express their ideas on what kind of president Carleton should be looking for. The committee has also implemented an online survey for those who can’t attend the in-person sessions.
“University is all about students, so we had to have them on the committee so they can give us their input,” Carruthers said. “How do they see Carleton University? What would attract their brothers or sisters or others to come to Carleton in the future?”
Carruthers said these methods of reaching out will be crucial to their search, as the committee is stressing the importance of finding the ideal candidate.
“This leader has to take Carleton forward for the next 10 years in a very competitive environment, where post-graduate education is changing and the government has greater expectations on how each university will deliver,” he said.
To help find the right president for Carleton, the search committee has hired Perrett Laver, an executive search firm.
The international company touts itself on its website as being able “to identify outstanding leaders for organisations that are solving the world’s biggest challenges and have extraordinary impact in society.”
According to Carruthers, the search could run the school somewhere close to the tune of $130,000, which he said is the same price they paid to find former president Roseann Runte a decade ago. This is fair though, Carruthers said, as Perret Laver’s work will be well worth the cost.
“They brought the expertise to the table. They have the links, they have the networks to literally leave no stone unturned and look throughout the world for an ideal candidate,” he said.
Article 5.2 of Carleton’s “Appointment Guidelines for President and Vice-Chancellor” stipulates that the search committee must provide a suitable candidate no later than three months before Summerlee’s term ends.
With only months to go, the race is on for the search committee to find the ideal president to lead Carleton into the future.
Photo by Meagan Casalino
