Emily Bruzzo, News Editor

After a semester of dissension at UNC-Greensboro, the university community seems to be looking away from the past and into the future as it officially began its search for a new chancellor on Tuesday when UNCG’s 23-membered chancellor search committee convened for the first time in the Elliot University Center.

It was a busy, five-hour-long day for the committee.

With an agenda that called for an extensive review of protocol, an official charge from UNC President Tom Ross, three presentations from potential search firms and the goal of deciding on one of those search firms, committee members certainly got the opportunity to gauge how well they will work with each other in the months ahead.

The committee was successful in choosing a search firm, which is a consulting group that will help recruit the chancellor candidates, interview them and provide assistance with any other needs that may arise over the course of the search process.

The search firm is the Dallas-based group, R. William Funk & Associates, which was immediately hired after a unanimous vote from the search committee.

Bill Funk, the firm’s founder and leader, is a highly recognized player in the field of executive recruitment in higher education.

Funk, who many members of the committee said during the deliberation process “blew them away” with his “slick” comportment, has conducted roughly 400 searches for presidents and chancellors over the last two decades.

He’s placed leaders at flagship institutions such as: Cornell University, UNC-Chapel Hill, Ohio State University and the University of Virginia. It also didn’t hurt his resume that he recruited UNC President Tom Ross to his current position.

Funk’s firm will charge the university $90,000, but an additional $9,000 may be needed for incidental expenses.

Funk, who will handle UNCG’s chancellor search personally, said he will be intimately involved in the open forums the search committee will be hosting with the UNCG community to receive feedback from people about what they want from their new chancellor.

At the forums— which will likely be held the week of Jan. 19, with staff and alumni forums in December— Funk explained he will ask three core questions in order to clarify UNCG’s idea of the perfect chancellor.

He’ll ask what the university’s major immediate and long-term challenges and opportunities are, what kind of person the community feels will be able to “address the challenges and exploit the opportunities” and how the university thinks he should be a proactive agent on its behalf, especially where reluctant candidates are concerned.

Funk said during his presentation that UNCG’s role as a sister-institution in the UNC system is advantageous, because of the system’s prestige and recognition in higher education around the world.

However, Funk didn’t shy away from the university’s obstacles, saying that in doing research about UNCG, he became more aware of the “dissonance” the community has experienced over the last few semesters and candidates will be aware of the university’s torn community as well.

“I think you will attract a good pool,” Funk said, “but I do think you need to be ready to address some of these issues.”

“You have to sell your institution on what you have and on what you’re good at right now and what you can be,” Funk asserted.

Funk told The Carolinian in an interview after the search committee had concluded its meeting, that UNCG has strong prospects for finding impressive candidates.

He stressed that UNCG is “part of a nationally, and even internationally, well-considered university system that for many has been the model around the country.”

“I think that has great drawing power,” he said, “people like to be part of it. Even at this stage, where funding has been cut pretty dramatically, the percentage that comes from the state is still higher than most other states.”

“So the power of the University of North Carolina system, I still think, is powerful,” Funk concluded.

Funk noted the idiosyncrasies of the UNC system, saying that in certain situations— such as with leaders who have become accustomed to acting autonomously —acclimating to the centralized nature of the system could be difficult for some candidates.

However, he still argues the necessary skill of intra-system communication can be learned.

As far as the type of person Funk’s intuition tells him would be good for UNCG, he says, “Good presidents today need to have a vision—need to be able to articulate that vision. But I think fundamentally, honestly, we can think of a lot of attributes to describe good presidents, but fundamentally they have to have a passion about changing students’ lives.”

“They can be financially savvy,” Funk asserted, “and they can be great researches in their field, but it seems to me the really best presidents and chancellors are those people who have this fundamental conviction that what they do is changing people’s lives.”

Funk continued, saying, “This is an institution of the right size to do really good things going forward. There’s a heck of a foundation here that can be built upon. And it’s that visionary, creative leader who can see that potential. And that’s the person who I’m looking for.”

Funk isn’t the only one who is looking for a superhero to lead UNCG.

UNC President Tom Ross, in his charge to the search committee, outlined what he would be looking for in the candidates the committee sent to him to consider recommending to the UNC board of governors, who will ultimately decide who UNCG’s next chancellor will be.

Ross said he wants UNCG “to find a leader with unwavering integrity,” and “courage to make the right decisions.”

He wants someone “who is deeply committed to higher education” and “someone who has a grasp on and really understands the liberal arts.”

Furthermore, Ross wants a candidate sent to him who “understands that teaching is paramount and that research is important.”

Ross outlined the need for a chancellor who will recognize UNCG’s history of service to the community and will respect the university’s growing collaboration with its UNC sister-institution, A&T.

Ultimately, however, Ross is looking for a candidate who understands students.

“Students are at the core of what we do; they’re why we’re here,” Ross argued.

With a list as extensive and unsparing as Ross’, it’s no wonder search committee members are anxious about the process ahead of them. But Ross says there’s no reason to worry, as long as the community focuses on staying unified and cultivating a forward thinking mentality.

“I think some of the people on the faculty,” Ross told The Carolinian in an interview after his speech, “need to start thinking about the future— the kind of institution you want UNCG to be.”

“Whoever comes here is going to need support, because it’s a tough time in higher education,” Ross argued.

“If they’re supported well,” he continued, “and they’re the right person…then the place will be fantastic, I think. It’s got huge potential.”

Ross warned the UNCG community, saying, “If there’s this pervasive, negative attitude, I think people will pick that up during the search. I think that will really hurt our ability to get the best person.”

“So, hopefully people will understand that and they’ll get focused on the future,” Ross concluded.