UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE
PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH COMMITTEE
June 23, 2009
The Presidential Search Committee met pursuant to notice given not less than 24 hours in
advance on June 23, 2009, at 3:05 p.m. in the Russell C. Myers Alumni Center of the
University of Cincinnati. H.C. Buck Niehoff, Chairperson of the Committee, presided.
MEMBERS PRESENT: H.C. Buck Niehoff, Chairperson
C. Francis Barrett
Marla I. Hall
Valerie Gray Hardcastle
Diana Hechavarria
Sandra W. Heimann
Stephen T. Kowel
Steve Simendinger
David M. Stern
John A. West
Janelle Wichmann
Jeffrey P. Williams
MEMBERS ABSENT: Chad P. Wick
Jeffrey L. Wyler
ALSO PRESENT: Greg Hand, University of Cincinnati Spokesperson;
Karen Faaborg, Sr. Associate Vice President for
Human Resources and Chief Human
Resources Officer;
Susan Stringer, Executive Assistant to the Board of
Trustees and Sr. Vice President for
Administration and Finance;
and the public
Mr. Niehoff called the seventh meeting of the Presidential Search committee to order at
3:05 p.m.
Minutes of the June 12, 2009 Meeting
Mr. Niehoff asked for additions, corrections, or deletions to the minutes of the June 12,
2009 meeting. Jeff Williams requested that the minutes be corrected on Page 4 in the
second paragraph as follows: “The committee was very appreciative of the hard work
that Dean Hardcastle and Mr. Williams had put into the questions and also the quality of
the questions.” Upon proper motion and second, the minutes, with corrections, were
approved.
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Presidential Search Committee Meeting
June 23, 2009
Interview Questions
Mr. Williams noted that the suggested schedule for information gathering sessions included five
interview sessions.
• Each session would last 90 minutes:
o 70 minutes for 14 five-minute questions)
o 2 ½ minutes for introduction
o 2 ½ minutes for final question & wrap up
o 15 minutes for review or recap, coordinate, personal time
90 minutes TOTAL
• There would be two teams and questions would be assigned as follows:
TEAM ONE TEAM ONE TEAM TWO TEAM TWO
POTENTIAL TOPICS POTENTIAL TOPICS
Buck Niehoff Management Approach Jeff Wyler Management Approach
Political Advocacy Political Advocacy
Sandy Heimann Financial Management Fran Barrett Financial Management
Promoting Collaboration Short vs. Long Term Issues
Janelle Wichmann Access to Higher Education Diana Hechavarria Access to Higher Education
Enhancing Student Life Revisiting a Decision
David Stern Oversight of AHC Valerie Hardcastle Oversight of AHC
Leading Significant Change Internationalization of UC
Stephen Kowel Academic Excellence Marla Hall Academic Excellence
Shared Governance Exposure on Campus
Steve Simendinger Role of Athletics Chad Wick Role of Athletics
Promoting Alumni Affinity Fostering Community Engagement
John West Promoting Diversity Jeff Williams Promoting Diversity
Fundraising Experience Fundraising Experience
The group discussed that it would be nice to allow approximately two to three minutes for the
candidate to talk about themselves and additional time to ask a question of the interviewers. It
was noted that the quality of the questions would tell a lot about the individual. The group
discussed ways that this could be accomplished within the time frame allotted and still allow for
all the questions to be asked. Mr. Williams said that he would work on the timing and get back
to the committee. The group also agreed that if a candidate asked a question that the committee
did not have an answer to that the candidates would be told that the committee would get back to
them with an answer.
The group agreed that the questions and the plan were extremely well done and thanked Jeff
Williams and Valerie Hardcastle.
Mr. Niehoff reminded the group that the questions were public record; however, the questions
would not be placed on the Presidential Search website. He stated that the questions would be
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Presidential Search Committee Meeting
June 23, 2009
available in the Board Office. If someone requests the questions, they will be required to come
to the board office and make a request in writing.
Informational Packet for Selected Interview Applicants
Marla Hall reported that the Materials for Candidates handout was a collaborative list worked on
by her and Greg Hand. She stated that some of the items on the list were still works in process,
but that the hope was to have all items completed and up on the website for easy download for
the candidates by July 15, 2009.
The group discussed the list and determined that the following should be added:
• Academic Health Center
• University Governance
• Organizational Charts
• Proudly Cincinnati Campaign Video
• End of year ½ minute promotional video
• Capital Projects
• New Welcome and Tour Video
• Performance Based Budgeting
• Research
• Genome Research Institute
• Proudly Cincinnati Website
It was noted that the website list could be added to or changed at any time, so if there are any
additions to contact Marla Hall.
Chair Niehoff reminded the group that the next meeting of the committee would be on July 27th
at 3:00 pm in the Alumni Center 2nd Floor Boardroom and would be in Executive Session. The
meeting adjourned at 4:12 pm.
__________________________________________
H.C. Buck Niehoff, Chairperson
Presidential Search Committee