Faculty, students express support for Albrecht
With a Feb. 1 deadline, the Board of Regents has not wasted any time in collecting opinions on how President Kermit L. Hall should best be replaced.
A small group of officials met this week with groups representing faculty, students and staff of Utah State University to discuss the possibility of bypassing a national search in the hunt for a new university president.
Janis Boettinger, president of the faculty senate, said she met Wednesday morning with representatives from the Board of Regents, Board of Trustees and Uintah Basin Extension Board to present them with the resolution the faculty senate adopted Monday.
The resolution endorses Provost Stan Albrecht as president and approves the bypass of a national search.
“We think they took away that as a matter of principle, there should be a national search,” she said. “However, this particular case is exceptional.”
Officials who initiated the meetings are not commenting, said Dave Buhler, Utah System of Higher Education associate commissioner of public affairs, because it would be premature to reveal findings before they can be taken back to other board members.
John DeVilbiss, USU public relations, said overall officials felt the visits “went very well” and provided “invaluable feedback.”
“There are a lot of important groups to listen to,” Buhler said. “The faculty is important to listen to, but so are alumni and people in the community.”
Pitcher also met with student leaders. Les Essig, president of the Associated Students of USU said while there has been no formal resolution adopted by students, support of bypassing a national search in the best interest of the university on behalf of students was expressed.
“We hope we were able to represent students with educated opinions as to what is best for the university,” he said.
Essig said the timing of Hall’s resignation makes finding a candidate with knowledge of the political atmosphere in Utah crucial.
“We are in the middle of a legislative session that looks to be very positive,” he said. “We need to have a leader at Utah State that is very prepared in that aspect as well as taking the university to higher heights and taking the next step.”
Essig said several important pieces of legislation, including faculty salary increases, investments, funding for research institutions of the state in excess of $200 million and the repeal of H.B. 331, are at stake.
“That has been communicated more than once,” DeVilbiss said. “That in the middle of a legislative session we need to keep the momentum going.”
Boettinger also cited the timing of Hall’s resignation as a reason for supporting Albrecht.
A national search could take up to a year, she said, and yield a president who may or may not have a vision consistent with the current leadership and course of the university.
“Appointing Albrecht will provide the continuity needed to see some current exciting initiatives through to completion,” she said. “We felt the faculty were very optimistic about the direction Utah State University is headed.
“Stan [Albrecht] is the best and most logical choice.”
The Board of Regents will meet Friday in Salt Lake City.
-bnelson@cc.usu.edu