The St. Thomas presidential search committee is considering a “confidential” interview process for the remainder of the search but has made no final decision between that and an open process.

Sara Gross Methner, general counsel and chief human resources officer, said the search committee will decide if it will release the names of semifinalists and finalists after it considers and determines whether or not it will lose strong candidates.

“If we’re going to lose strong candidates, then it’s not in the university’s best interests to have an open process, but there could be a confidential process … where more than the search committee meets with candidates, but not the whole community,” Gross Methner said.  

The number of people outside the committee who would participate in a possible confidential interview process would be limited, but Gross Methner said there are voices the committee thinks would be helpful to hear from during the interview process.

“As you think about the campus, there are some obvious groups you want … a selection of people who are familiar with the university, who are bringing different perspectives about the university,” Gross Methner said.

No undergraduate students sit on the search committee and no determination has been made about whether or not they will be included in the confidential process. Gross Methner said even though the committee doesn’t include this demographic of the St. Thomas community, students’ interests are still represented by the faculty.

“We’ve got four people on the ground who work with students everyday, so I hope that students can feel comfortable that even though there are no students on the search committee, their interests are well-represented,” Gross Methner said.

Gross Methner said among universities conducting presidential searches, there has been an increasing trend toward confidential interview processes.

“The reason for that is that really strong candidates sometimes withdraw from the process if the process is not confidential, particularly sitting presidents, but also other strong candidates,” Gross Methner said.

Gross Methner said since St. Thomas is conducting a national search for the strongest pool of candidates, some of the candidates may not have even been looking for a new position and are satisfied and successful in their current positions.

In today’s world of media and communication, Gross Methner said if the committee released names of semifinalists and finalists, the candidates would face repercussions in their current positions, something that wasn’t the case even 20 years ago.

“As soon as your name gets announced, people can go online and search for you … send emails to their friends at those institutions and notify them,” Gross Methner said. “It was easier I think, 22 years ago, to apply for something and not necessarily have people know until you got to the end.”

Gross Methner said if candidates’ names are released, it could shake up the atmosphere, something especially important as universities conduct massive fundraising efforts.

“You can imagine that if you’re sitting across the table of a prospective donor, trying to raise millions of dollars for your university … and the donor says, ‘well, I see that you just applied for this other position at another university, why would I give money to you?’ That puts people in a really awkward situation,” Gross Methner said.

Gross Methner also said candidates who aren’t hired may find it difficult to go back to their communities after the search is over.

“There are people that will say, ‘well, they just must not be loyal to our community’ or feel like, ‘well, they must not have been good enough to get that job,’” Gross Methner said. “It just puts them at a disadvantage, and it puts us at a disadvantage if they withdraw from the process.”

Gross Methner said the search committee recognizes that candidates are making a significant commitment and taking significant risks to participate in the search process.

“You have to convince them (candidates) that this is the place that they should think about actively,” Gross Methner said. “Maybe they love the idea of it but they say … ‘I’m not from there, what are my ties, this is a big risk for me from a career perspective so be respectful of that and understand that I’ve got to figure this out too.’”

Gross Methner said the committee is looking for the strongest pool of candidates, but the most important part is finding the right fit for St. Thomas.

“It’s a match process,” Gross Methner said. “You’re trying to figure out which one of them is the best for our needs right now and in the next however many years. Sometimes you have excellent candidates, but they are not a good match for one reason or another.”

Gross Methner said the committee recognizes that an open process could be mutually beneficial for both the candidates and the university.

“If you have the opportunity to meet someone and engage someone that you might be working with going forward or who might be leading your institution, that’s a wonderful thing if you can do it,” Gross Methner said.

Gross Methner said ultimately, the committee is looking for a balance.

“There’s a balance between being respectful … of their current position and current professional relationships and to have the community have a way to come in and get to meet with the candidate,” Gross Methner said.

Heidi Enninga can be reached at enni5264@stthomas.edu.