Building a Better Search

A consultant who was paid $12,500 by the University of Wisconsin system to prevent a repeat of the Robert Felner fiasco has released his recommendations, the Associated Press reports.

The university brought in Stephen R. Portch, former UW Colleges chancellor and chancellor emeritus of the University System of Georgia, to evaluate its hiring process after the embarrassing discovery last spring that Felner, who was set to become the chancellor of UW at Parkside in August, was under federal criminal investigation in Kentucky for allegedly misappropriating federal funds. When the scandal broke, Felner, who was then dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Louisville, denied the allegations but declined the Parkside post, sending the search back to square one. Members of the hiring committee said they had been unaware of the investigation when they gave the job to Felner, raising serious questions about the screening process.

According to the AP, while Portch called UW’s current policies essentially “sound, thorough, and specific,” he suggested some improvements:

Do Internet searches to learn more about candidates.
Hire someone in the system president’s office to supervise all chancellor searches.
Conduct in-person interviews on the candidates’ campuses.

The recommendations are slated to be discussed at a Board of Regents meeting this Friday.