FAQ: Presidential Transition
(The following information is updated as of December 8, 2005, and has been formulated through the months from interviews with various sources on the presidential search committee, board of trustees and University administration. The list of questions and answers will continue to be updated throughout the transition.)
What are the next steps in the search process?
The presidential search committee will receive responses from the reference panels that met Dec. 6. Panel members have until Dec. 9 to provide individual written responses to the search committee. After reviewing that feedback, the committee will forward any recommendation, along with the feedback from the reference panels, to the board of trustees for consideration.
Are other candidates are still in the selection process at this point?
The search committee has been meeting since May and had announced in November that it was narrowing the list of numerous nominations and applications it had received. The committee can verify that it is very far into the search selection process, and Dr. Westmoreland can be considered a finalist.
It is important for the integrity of the institution and the search process to protect the confidentiality of those who have been considered for the presidency of Samford University. As with most presidential searches, leading candidates are usually successful leaders, and it could be difficult for them if the committee were to reveal their identities without their permission.
The process has had several phases built in all along, and the reference panels before which candidates like Dr. Westmoreland will appear are obviously a latter phase of the process. Many things tend to change in any selection process, and we cannot safely assume any decision is final until the search committee presents information to the board of trustees for their action.
What was the process for determining a list of finalists?
It’s helpful to spell out the scope and scale of this search process. More than 140 nominations and applicants for this position, spanning a diverse group of individuals from all regions of the country, have been contacted and reviewed by the search committee. Throughout the past six months the committee sought nominations, wrote letters to university presidents and provosts throughout the nation, and contacted several leaders in the field to get input on our process and any potential leaders we should consider.
Through this and in-depth research into the national trends describing what qualities have shown to be necessary in being at the helm of a university, the committee was able to narrow the candidate list.
The committee then developed a short list of candidates that included presidents, provosts and vice presidents of higher education institutions. These institutions ranged from large public institutions to private colleges including those of Baptist and other denominational affiliations. The geographic representation of the short list was broad and included individuals from schools in the North, West, and Southeast. The individuals on the short list were interviewed in Birmingham.
Dr. Westmoreland emerged as a leading candidate from this group. Faculty members from the search committee traveled to Ouachita to visit with Dr. Westmoreland and to talk with Ouachita faculty and staff. After reviewing all the information from interviews and references that were contacted, the committee decided to put forth Dr. Westmoreland to a group of reference panels.
Is the entire search committee supportive of the current finalist being considered?
What the committee can say, without breaking the committee’s confidentiality agreements, is that all members of the committee are supportive of Dr. Westmoreland.
When did Dr. Westmoreland’s name come up in the search process?
During the nomination process, a university president mentioned Dr. Westmoreland as a strong leader and a rising star in the world of higher education. As the committee spent months researching candidates and getting input from higher education leaders and other presidents, his name and lofty credentials continued to rise to the forefront of the candidate universe.
What experience does Dr. Westmoreland bring to Samford that will enhance the University?
The committee feels Dr. Westmoreland possesses a number of strong assets that are critical to the presidency of Samford University. He has the experience and many of the ideal qualifications that were listed as priorities for the position from the very start of the process. He is a leader and a communicator, and he strikes that balance between faith and academics that is extremely important to an institution like ours. He has the capacity to not only speak about personal faith, but he also lives it. He is also a prolific fundraiser, having overseen and coordinated campaigns raising some $130 million cumulatively during his career at Ouachita Baptist University.
Will Dr. Westmoreland be able to represent Samford’s historic Christian values and Baptist heritage to its diverse constituencies?
Dr. Westmoreland is a Christian leader and a sincere man of faith. In dealing with university affairs, he has shown an ability to live out his principles and faith while at the same time having an open mind to diverse issues and positions. Frankly, he would not have progressed to this point in the search process if he did not fully demonstrate to the committee his devout desire for inclusion in intra- and inter-faith matters and issues. He also has experience with governance issues, including overseeing a charter change at Ouachita as the university put into place a self-perpetuating board of trustees. The Westmorelands are active members of Second Baptist Church in Arkadelphia.
How have Samford employees, and specifically the faculty, been involved in the search process?
Most importantly, the Samford faculty was represented on the presidential search committee. In addition, every single Samford University faculty and staff member not sitting on the committee had many opportunities for input and had the chance to submit nominations for this process. More specifically, the committee made multiple invitations to faculty and staff for participation in the search. A total of 15 faculty members submitted various suggestions for candidates, some faculty nominating more than one candidate. Several of these faculty suggestions overlapped, resulting in 18 total faculty-submitted names for consideration. In addition, there were also 12 administration and staff-submitted nominations, yielding four potential candidate names, out of more than 140 nominations received.
The chair of the Faculty Senate and the president-elect of the Staff Advisory Council had the opportunity to address the search committee at one of its early meetings and provided helpful and positive insights for the committee. Both also served on the faculty/staff reference panel.
The committee gave very serious consideration to all of the input from employees.
When will Dr. Corts’ retirement become effective?
Dr. Corts has asked that 2005–06 be his last academic year. Should the search committee find a candidate earlier, Dr. Corts has graciously agreed to step aside to allow his successor maximum opportunity to become acclimated to Samford. Ideally, the search committee and trustees would like to have a new leader chosen by spring 2006 and assuming the presidency sometime after commencement in May 2006.
What if a new president is selected before that date?
As soon as a new president is chosen and that individual can assume the duties of office, Dr. Corts desires to step aside to accommodate the individual and the best interests of the University.
If Dr. Corts is not yet 65 years old, why is he retiring?
Dr. Corts will be 65 in October 2006. In 1983, the board established a policy that top leadership of the University should retire at age 65. Dr. Corts agrees with that policy and, despite urging from members of the board, he is unwilling to make himself an exception to that policy. If all goes as planned, he actually will retire very close to his 65th birthday, allowing a new leader to begin at the ideal time—the start of the academic year.
What will be Dr. Corts’ relationship to the University following retirement?
Dr. Corts has informed the board of trustees that he desires to have no official responsibilities at the University after his retirement, but he has promised that he will do anything he can to assure Samford’s ongoing success. As he put it, he and his wife, Marla,have invested so much of their lives in Samford that they could never disengage. But, they want to allow their successors optimal freedom, and they want to pursue other goals at this stage of life.
What are Dr. Corts’ personal plans following retirement?
With nine years in a previous presidency, and 22 already at Samford, Dr. Corts is one of the few people in America who has done this very demanding job for more than three decades. He has earned some down time, and he wants to write, travel and pursue other personal interests.
Will Dr. and Mrs. Corts continue to live in Birmingham following retirement?
Yes. The Corts’ three children and their six grandchildren live in Alabama, and they feel very much part of this city and state. They already have purchased a house in the metropolitan area in which they plan to live in retirement.
Who selected the members of the Presidential Search Committee?
The Samford University Board of Trustees’ policy manual puts the responsibility for managing a succession process clearly in the hands of the current chairman of the board and those individuals who formerly served as chairmen of the board of trustees. They became a Committee of Chairs, and they have planned the process to be followed and have chosen the people to serve. All their actions have been approved by the full board of trustees.
What was the process for naming the Presidential Search Committee?
The Committee of Chairs was not surprised by Dr. Corts’ decision. Some trustees have been working with him since he first mentioned the possibility of retirement a couple of years ago. (Although the board established a policy in 1983 that top leadership of the University should retire at age 65, the trustees tried to convince Dr. Corts to remain beyond his 65th birthday. Dr. Corts agrees with the policy, however, and is unwilling to make himself an exception to that policy.)
The board, together with Dr. Corts, began to read, reflect and consider a plan of action. The Committee of Chairs has met a number of times. It has carefully reviewed available printed resources, and has studied the search efforts and results of other universities. The committee has tried to provide for broad participation, while keeping the Presidential Search Committee from being too large. The Presidential Search Committee is representative of Samford’s constituencies and allows for input from the University’s supporters and constituents.
Will the Presidential Search Committee consider non-Baptist candidates?
Samford cherishes its wonderful relationship with the Alabama Baptist State Convention and the excellent support the University receives from the convention. There is nothing in writing that requires the president to be Baptist, but practically speaking, it would be extremely important.
Given this time of leadership transition, is this the right time for Samford to embark on the campus-improvement projects announced on April 14?
These projects continue a pattern of expansion and renewal that began in 2003 with the renovation of Ingalls and Russell Halls. In February 2004, President Corts and the board of trustees announced a very ambitious multi-year campus improvement plan that includes the projects announced on April 14. These projects represent commitments of the University, regardless of who is president, to grow and improve.
What is the fund-raising goal for these campus-improvement projects?
At least $50 million is needed to fund the first phase of projects to which the University is committed.
Will any of the projects be started before all funds are raised?
Yes. The administration and trustees have some plans in mind and are moving ahead. Samford is counting on friends, donors, constituents and the people of the city and state to step forward with major commitments. These are very ambitious plans, and they will not be funded by “business as usual.” Everyone who loves and cares about this University will have to make a very serious and sacrificial financial commitment. No high-quality university reached that status by accident, or without the support of a deeply committed constituency. It just does not, has not and cannot happen. Universities achieve high levels of achievement because people support them.
Because Samford has enjoyed a meteoric rise in its endowment, some people believe it has all it needs. Of course, that is not true. A strong endowment is a great blessing, but endowment supports all elements of a university, and much endowment is dedicated to specific purposes and goals and cannot be used to fund new buildings.
There is no shortcut. The people who believe in Samford’s style of education, the people who have benefited from it in the past and the people who know it is important for this nation—those people are needed to participate heartily in this effort.
Have architects been chosen for any of the projects?
Samford has been working with architects on the proposed music building for some months, and those plans are nearing completion. Architects are already at work on preliminary plans for the wellness center/arena/convocation center, and Samford should have those plans in just a few weeks. The University’s facilities management administrators are coordinating plans for the other immediate projects—parking, the tennis center, stadium turf and HVAC systems.
