The MTSU Board of Trustees unanimously voted Tuesday to make KornFerry, one of the world’s largest executive search firms, the firm to conduct the lookout for the university’s next president.
MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee announced that he would step down as the longest-serving university president in December, after 25 years of service. Now, after more than 80 applications, the Board of Trustees has decided on a firm to hunt for the university’s successor.
“We’re going to have a busy fall,” Chairman Stephen Smith said. “I’m confident we hired a super search firm.”
The Board of Trustees chose Korn Ferry for its track record of securing high-level university placements across the country. In addition to the more than 12 universities the firm has worked with, Vice Chair Christine Karbowiak Vanek said its experience can even help identify potential candidates.
“Our takeaway was that there were a number of aspects to their history and their capability that … would allow them to have a view toward … a pipeline of candidates,” Vanek said.
Another asset the firm provides is its search strategy, Smith said.
“One of the reasons we chose Korn Ferry is that instead of having 30 people on the search committee, they suggested we have a number of small, for lack of a better word, focus groups,” Smith said.
This tactic, although it broadens participation, allows a wider range of people to weigh in on the university’s future – including figures in politics and the chamber of commerce, Smith said. Still, Smith emphasized that the majority of the participants will be students, staff and professors as well as members of the board.
The price of the search is also reasonable among major national firms, board member Tom Boyd said, as the board secured the lowest cost for the university.
The firm’s representative for the Board of Trustees, Josh Ward, holds a Ph.D. and has worked in the field for about a decade, including experience in university presidential searches.
Korn Ferry agreed that Jan. 1, 2027, is a reasonable time to announce an official presidential candidate, but the board hopes to find a candidate before then.
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