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DURHAM -- Trustees at the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics unanimously appointed a 21-person committee Friday to conduct a search for the institution's next leader.
Chancellor Gerald Boarman announced last month that he would take a job as head of a Maryland private school in the summer.
It was not until Friday morning that a school employee, who had had a death in the family, agreed to fill the final slot on the committee, Chairwoman Shirley Frye told the Board of Trustees and a group of faculty and staff who attended the meeting.
"In ordinary circumstances, we would have given you much more -- much more lead time for this meeting, but I hope you understand the urgency and quick response that dictated that we proceed as rapidly as possible," Frye said.
It took less than 10 minutes to approve the search panel, which Frye will lead.
The body includes eight school trustees, three teachers, one administrator, one staff member, the student government president, one alumnus and one parent. An educational advisory council for the school and its fund-raising board also have one representative apiece on the search panel.
The final three slots on the panel were taken by Durham Mayor Bill Bell; Rebecca Garland, the chief academic office for the state Department of Public Instruction; and Sam Houston, the president and CEO of the N.C. Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Center.
Erskine Bowles, the president of the UNC system, insisted on a diverse group being named to the search committee, Frye said. The committee features a mix of female and male, and Asian, black and white members. The school trustees appointed to the search panel reside in the Triangle, Charlotte, Greensboro, Wilmington, Hickory and Linden.
The goal is for the search committee and then the Board of Trustees to approve the names of three finalists by mid-June, Frye said. Bowles will interview the finalists and nominate a chancellor, who can take office with the approval of the Board of Governors.
"Ninety percent of the meetings in selecting the next chancellor are open, and each person will have an opportunity for input," Frye said.
When asked about the possibility of naming the finalists or conducting public question-and-answer sessions with them, Frye said that would be up to the search panel. She suggested that the candidates' willingness to be named would be a factor in the decision whether to release the names.
North Carolina statutes are typically protective of government job searches and allow information and deliberations about candidates to be held in confidence but for the final hiring vote. However, information on how the search will be conducted is usually public record.
Joni Worthington, the university system's vice president for communications, said that chancellor search committees are free to name finalists and generally decide whether to do so early in the process.
The search committee will meet next week to discuss how its work will be conducted. Two questions that are likely to come up are whether to hire a search firm and when and where to schedule forums around the state to gather public opinions on what qualities to look for in the next chancellor.
The 30-year-old school's next head will be its fourth. This is the first leadership transition since Science and Mathematics became a member of the University of North Carolina system.
