The university has selected a search firm to assist in selecting a replacement for President Mary Sue Coleman, who plans to retire in July 2014 when her current contract expires.
Russell Reynolds Associates, one of the leading executive recruiting firms in the world with offices in 26 countries, will lead the search, Regent Laurence Deitch said during the June 20 board meeting.
“I know I speak for all my colleagues when I say that the selection of a president is the most important responsibility of the Board of Regents,” Deitch said. “We appreciate that President Coleman has given us a good amount of time prior to her retirement to carefully plan for an excellent search process, and we’ve already begun that work.”
The cost of the search will be $300,000 plus expenses not to exceed $50,000.
Russell Reynolds Associates has a robust higher education practice focusing on the recruitment of presidents, provosts and deans primarily at AAU research universities and their peers. The senior executive leading the higher education practice was herself a tenured professor and senior administrator for two decades at several AAU universities.
“We are impressed by the team’s insights as we discussed the challenges and opportunities in leading one of the world’s great universities,” Deitch said. “The group is highly regarded by their clients for its effectiveness, and the ability to understand Michigan. We believe the group will bring great energy to such an important task.”
Later this summer the Board of Regents will share more details as the search process is finalized.
