Presidential search committee recommends Crain, Shonrock to full ULS board
Contact: Rene Abadie
2/13/09
HAMMOND -- Southeastern Louisiana University Interim President John L. Crain and Texas Tech University Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Michael Shonrock were named finalists by the Southeastern Presidential Search Committee today (Feb. 13).
Both will be invited to interview with the Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System in Baton Rouge Tuesday, Feb. 17, where a final selection is expected.
Friday's decision came after four days of public interviews as well as university and community meetings with the semi-finalists. Semi-finalists were Crain, Shonrock, Nick J. Bruno, vice president for business and finance for the University of Louisiana System, and Karen A. White, senior advisor for urban and metropolitan university initiatives and professor at the University of South Florida.
"We had four outstanding candidates and the committee had a tough decision," said UL System President and search committee chair Randy Moffett. "This has been a very thoughtful and thorough process, and I would like to thank the committee, the campus and the community for their participation."
In making the motion to recommend Crain and Shonrock, UL System Board and search committee member Andre Coudrain spoke of the candidates' strengths.
"When the search process began, I thought John Crain's greatest qualification was his knowledge of Southeastern. The truth is that Dr. Crain's ability and experience give him the capacity to be a successful president at any university," said Coudrain. "Dr. Shonrock stood out because he has maintained academic experiences through teaching, he has a strong level of current community involvement, he cares deeply about his students, and he has achieved success at top leadership positions."
The UL System Board of Supervisors is scheduled to select a new president for Southeastern after interviewing the two finalists in a special meeting on Feb. 17 at 9:30 a.m. in the Claiborne Building Auditorium (1201 N. Third Street) in Baton Rouge.
Voting members of the 10-member search committee were UL System Board Members Andre Coudrain of Hammond, Elsie Burkhalter of Slidell, Russell Mosely of Baton Rouge, Wayne Parker of Choudrant, Winfred Sibille of Sunset, and Student Board Member Morgan Verrette of Lake Charles. Also serving as a voting member was Southeastern Faculty Senate Representative Joseph Burns.
Serving in a non-voting, advisory capacity were Southeastern Student Government Association President Zealon Solomon and community representative Daryl Ferrara who was selected by the Hammond Chamber of Commerce. UL System President Randy Moffett served as the non-voting chair.
For more information about the Southeastern search, including candidate applications and an independent review of the Southeastern campus, visit the UL System's website at www.ulsystem.edu and click on the Southeastern search icon.
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