Bernie Machen will conclude his time as the 11th president of the University of Florida next year, and the Board of Trustees is turning to the Gator Nation to help select his successor.
UF's Presidential Search Committee is giving stakeholders in the university the opportunity to submit questions that will set the course for its candidate interview process. Director of Public Relations Janine Sikes said the submissions will be used determine the most relevant themes for questions in the committee's interviews.
"What we're trying to do is prepare in advance by soliciting some questions from multiple stakeholders of the University of Florida, including faculty, staff, students, alumni, local business leaders (and) state business leaders," Sikes said.
Submissions will be sorted by theme and constituency, Sikes said, so that the search committee can address issues based on their importance to various members of the UF family on campus and in the community.
Although 23 other universities are looking to hire new leadership, not all of them are in direct competition with UF.
"We recognize that this is a huge demand period … but the actual number of universities seeking the same type of candidate is much smaller," Sikes said, referencing UF's size and prominence as a broad-based academic research institution.
"We are in a good position to bring high-caliber candidates for interviews," she said.
Questions can be directed to the search committee at presidentsearch@ufl.edu by Nov. 7.
George Pappas edited this story online.