The search for the next chancellor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill may have to speed up — for competitive and confidentiality reasons.
That was the message Wednesday from the university search committee tasked with identifying a small number of finalists for the position.
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The committee's goal is to have the next permanent chancellor named by the end of the year. Kevin Guskiewicz left UNC for Michigan State in January. Interim chancellor Lee Roberts took over in January.
"For candidates who are already sitting in very strong positions, it matters to them," said Christy Page, the chair of Chancellor Search Advisory Committee and the executive dean of the UNC School of Medicine.
"It hurts them to enter into a phase where they can be exposed and that could harm their careers. With that and with the market and the number of things, we are paying great attention to moving as swiftly as possible for once we start interviewing people."
The committee, which spent most of its meeting in closed session on Wednesday to discuss the search and potential candidates, has not yet begun interviewing candidates. Another meeting is scheduled for August.
Laurie Wilder, president of Parker Executive Search, is leading the outreach effort on behalf of UNC.
Wilder said she and her team have reached out to hundreds of individuals in the last few weeks gauge interest and to solicit recommendations. Some are current university chancellors or presidents, others are vice presidents, provosts and deans at large public or top research universities. She said individuals with military and corporate backgrounds have also been part of the discussions.
"This is a special place," Wilder told the committee. "That came out loud and clear through our conversations. A lot of talk about the fact that the national and global reputation of UNC-Chapel Hill is one that is at a high level."
Wilder said almost half of the top 50 public and private universities have experienced a leadership change since the start of 2022.
She called it a "war for talent" at top universities. Guskiewicz had a $657,700 salary at UNC, but is being paid a base salary of $975,000 plus yearly incentives and other perks at Michigan State.
"It's important that this process reflects the dynamic of the market that we're in right now," she said.
Wilder, too, stressed the importance of confidentiality and, thus, speed in the process — to limit the risk to candidates up for the job.
In a concession to timing — and, Page said, due to overwhelming response from the university community to previous listening sessions, interviews and surveys — the committee may proceed without planned opportunities for students and faculty to give additional input during the fall semester.
Page said she was encouraged by the number and quality of candidates who have expressed some level of interest in the position. The committee could look outside academia for its next leader.
"There are strong leaders who can lead complex higher education universities with all different types of backgrounds," she said. "So we value that breadth and depth of within the pool. Not every great leader has gone through exactly the pipeline that maybe one would have thought from 20, 30, 50 years ago. We're excited to have that variability to find the best leader to carry our university forward."
UNC is one of three UNC System schools looking for a permanent chancellor. Four others had new leaders start in 2024. But it is the flagship and most high-profile school in the state.
Most searches take about six to nine months.
"Everything is more complicated in Chapel Hill," said UNC System President Peter Hans, a UNC graduate. "There's always more moving pieces."
Hans will ultimately make the decision on the next chancellor along with the Board of Governors. UNC is seeking its fifth permanent chancellor since 2000. Its last three chancellors have left for opportunities at other universities. Roberts, who comes from a non-academic background, has been endorsed for the permanent job by top Republican legislative leaders.
"It's a tough job," Hans said when asked about the turnover. "I think that explains it. But it's also a wonderful job, and I think we saw that acknowledgment and recognition reflected in the quality and the depth of the pool."