Florida-based executive search firm Greenwood/Asher & Associates, Inc., will assist the UT System Board of Regents in its search for a new chancellor.
The University of California Board of Regents unanimously voted March 27 to appoint former UT System Chancellor Mark Yudof as its 19th president after a California presidential search committee recommended the chancellor to the board.
Yudof's appointment will become effective this summer, but an exact date is not yet decided. He will receive an $828,084 annual compensation package - about a 12 percent increase from his $742,000 package in Texas.
Yudof has headed all 15 UT campuses since 2002 and began his career in academia in 1971 as an assistant law professor at UT, eventually serving as dean of the law school and provost. In 1997, he left Texas to serve as president of the University of Minnesota until returning as UT System chancellor.
The firm, hired in April, said it could not comment on the progress of individual searches due to confidentiality. In 2005, the firm assisted with the search for UT-Austin President William Powers.
UT System spokesman Anthony De Bruyn said using a search firm to find academic leaders is a traditional practice for universities across the country.
"Finding a CEO in an $11 billion enterprise that includes nine academic universities and six health institutions is a unique talent, and the board appreciates the assistance the firm can offer," De Bruyn said.
He said there is no deadline for the search.
Dr. Kenneth Shine, the UT System's executive vice chancellor for health affairs, will become the chancellor ad interim May 1.
William Cunningham, UT System chancellor from 1992 to 2000, said a chancellor needs to have qualities that include being a good executive, knowing how to interact with people and feeling comfortable in political environments.
"I think the most important thing is they need to understand how a complex organization like the University of Texas System functions," Cunningham said. "They need to understand how universities operate and function and the role of faculty. Normally that would mean they would come from [academia], but they don't need to."
He cited Don Walker, chancellor from 1978 to 1984, who was successful as chancellor with an accounting and finance background.
