New website, meetings for info on search for UI president

University President Bob Easter speaks with the meeting after starting his job in July 2012. Photo: L. Brian Stauffer/Urbana Champaign

A new website and upcoming town hall meetings will provide information and gather feedback on the nationwide search for a new University of Illinois president.

The website is designed for potential applicants as well as the university community, said the search committee co-chairs, university trustee Pamela Strobel and Urbana-Champaign physics professor Douglas Beck.

The online portal provides links to the position announcement, information on job duties and qualifications, background on the 19-member search committee, news releases and media coverage, the committee’s meeting schedule and the dates for town hall forums seeking campus input on the search.

A UIC town hall meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m. June 24 in the Thompson Rooms of Student Center West. Meetings are scheduled June 23 at UIS and June 25 at Urbana-Champaign.

The website provides opportunities for ongoing feedback with links to submit nominations and post questions or comments.

The Board of Trustees launched the presidential search in March to replace President Robert Easter, who will retire when his term ends on June 30, 2015.

The committee will recommend finalists to the board, which intends to name a replacement by late this fall. Easter became the university’s 19th president on July 1, 2012, after 36 years as a faculty member and top administrator on the Urbana-Champaign campus.