Presidential Search Update - 09/28/2023
To: WCU Campus Community
From: Christopher Franklin, Chair of the Presidential Search Committee
Date: September 28, 2023
Subject: Re: WCU Presidential Search Interview Day
Over the past week, we have conducted 24 listening sessions with various campus constituencies with two community-wide open forums scheduled for October 2nd. During that time, Greenwood Asher and Associates, at my direction, connected with Dr. R. Lorraine Bernotsky to ascertain whether she would be applying for the presidency. We are pleased to report that Dr. Bernotsky has enthusiastically indicated that she will be submitting her materials once we have finalized the presidential prospectus.
Between October 3rd and October 9th, the search firm will have provided the search committee with a draft prospectus that includes all of the feedback from the listening sessions, the search committee, and any feedback provided via e-mail to either the search firm or the presidentsearch@wcupa.edu mailbox. The search committee will be meeting Monday October 9th to review, edit, and finalize the proposed prospectus. Following this, the search consultant will transmit the prospectus to Dr. Bernotsky so that she may prepare her application materials for review by the committee.
To provide sufficient notice for the campus community to participate in the process, we are announcing October 23rd as the day Dr. Bernotsky will be on campus interviewing to be WCU’s 16th president. Please find a detailed scheduled below. We strongly encourage the entire campus community to participate in one of the relevant sessions.
| Time | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 8-9:30am | Sykes 10A | Search Committee Interview |
| 9:45-10:30am | Sykes Theatre | Staff Unions (AFSCME, POA/SPFPA, SCUPA, OPEIU) |
| 10:45-11:30am | Sykes Theatre | Faculty Union and Shared Governance (APSCUF, CAPC, Council of Chairs, Faculty Senate, Graduate Council) |
| 11:45-12:30pm | Sykes Theatre | Faculty and Coaches Open Forum |
| 12:45-1:15pm | Lunch and Break | |
| 1:15-2pm | Sykes Theatre | Nonrepresented/Managers Open Forum |
| 2:15-3pm | Sykes Theatre | Staff Open Forum |
| 3:15-4pm | Sykes Theatre | Open Forum |
| 4:15-5pm | Zoom * | Foundation Board, Alumni Association Board, Alumni and External Community |
| 5:15-6pm | Sykes Theatre | Student Open Forum |
| 6:15-7pm | Zoom * | Philadelphia Open Forum |
*zoom link will be forthcoming
The campus community will be provided with an electronic means of submitting feedback on the day’s events between October 23rd and November 1st. The search committee will then meet to review the feedback and formalize their recommendation in time for the November 15th Council of Trustees meeting where the Council will make its final determination on whether to submit Dr. Bernotsky’s name to the Board of Governors.