The Search for a New President

Dr. Douglas M. North, the eighth president of Alaska Pacific University, is in the process of completing the final year of his professional contract and will leave the university in 2010 for other opportunities. The Board of Trustees, which has been preparing for his departure since late 2008, has put into place a process that will lead to the selection of Dr. North’s successor. A major component of that process was the establishment of a Presidential Search Committee (PSC) representing the different constituencies of the university including students, faculty, non-teaching staff, the general community in addition to members of the Board of Trustees.

Here are the members of the Presidential Search Committee. Please feel to contact any of them directly to share your thoughts or concerns regarding the process at any point along the way.

Committee Member Representing Email Phone
Dr. Charlie Fahl Chair, Trustee charliefahl@gci.net 333-1779
David Karp Trustee dkarp@nac.aero 249-5152
Karen Hunt Trustee klhunt@ptialaska.net 274-7240
Don Keil Trustee donkeil@aol.com 229-4337
Katherine Gottlieb Trustee katherineg@scf.cc 729-4938
Robert Gottstein Trustee robert@purelyalaskan.com 257-5601
Dr. Leslie Cornick APU Faculty lcornick@alaskapacific.edu 564-8885
Dr. Yaso Thiru APU Faculty yasot@alaskapacific.edu 564-8260
Marc Phillips APU Staff marcp@alaskapacific.edu 564-8349
Josh Bishoff Student jbishoff@alaskapacific.edu 440-0631
Diane Kaplan General Public,
Alumni, Donors		 dkaplan@rasmuson.org 297-2700

The Search Process

The Presidential Search Committee adopted guiding principles that would help frame the search process:

  • Retain a nationally recognized executive placement firm to help manage the process;
  • Conduct a broad search with aggressive recruitment of potential candidates both within and outside of Alaska;
  • Provide opportunities for all constituencies to meet the finalists in person;
  • Make the search process as transparent as possible while protecting the privacy rights of individual applicants;
  • Conclude the search process in a timely fashion to assure a smooth transition.

    • Witt/Kieffer a nationally recognized executive placement firm based in Oak Brook, Illinois, was selected to support the search process, and together with the PSC developed the timeline and position description.

    Timeline of the Presidential Search Process

    October/December 2008 Develop presidential search criteria and planning document.
    January 2009 Form Presidential Search Committee.
    February 2009 Board of Trustees conveys their “charge” to the PSC.
    March/July 2009 Solicit interest from placement firms through an RFP process; interview final candidate firms; and, select firm.
    July/August 2009 Develop position specification that reflects the Board’s vision for the future of APU, informed by all constituencies.
    August 2009 Recruiting process begins: publish the position specification, begin advertising for candidates, and conduct direct outreach to potential candidates recommended by the Trustees, faculty, staff, students, and alumni/community.
    September/October 2009 Recruiting continues. In late October, initial screening/filtering of leads to selection of 8 to 12 semifinalists.
    November 2009 PSC interviews semifinalists at neutral airport location, selecting 3 to 5 finalists. Background checks are conducted on all finalists.
    November/Dececember 2009 Finalists are announced and visit campus, meet with all constituencies, including Anchorage community, and undergo comprehensive interviews/Q&A with Board of Trustees.
    December 10, 2009 Scheduled Board of Trustee meeting. Trustees select the top candidate, Chair leads contract negotiations.
    January 2010 New President introduced to the APU community on campus and the wider public.
    July 1, 2010 Next APU President begins her or his tenure.

    You can stay up-to-date on the process of the search for a new President at the APU web site. Click here to be taken directly to the page at the site that is the portal to all information about the Presidential Search.

     

    4101 University Drive Anchorage, Alaska 99508 alaskapacific.edu