Press Release - Korn/Ferry International's William Funk Named Consultant for Chancellor Search

August 1, 2001

Korn/Ferry International's William Funk Named Consultant for Chancellor Search

R. William "Bill" Funk, managing director of Korn/Ferry International's education and not-for-profit executive search practice, has been hired to assist in the search for a new chancellor for the University System of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø (ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø). ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Board of Regents Chairman Nathan A. Chapman Jr. said today that Funk will provide advice and counsel to the 18-member search committee, which was tasked last May with identifying candidates for the position. Korn/Ferry, based in Dallas, TX, was the successful respondent to an extensive request for proposal (RFP) for a consultant to assist in the search. Funk will meet with the committee in the fall.

"Bill Funk is at the forefront of executive searches for many of the most important jobs in American higher education," Chapman said. "He is widely seen as having the expertise and the intuition to help find the most appropriate candidates for leading a variety of institutions. When we started this process we said we wanted to find the very best candidates for this key position, and with Bill's help I am certain we will."

Chapman chairs the search committee, which includes five members of the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Board of Regents, three presidents of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø institutions, four representatives of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø faculty and staff, and five members of the public. The committee will review nominations and applications for the position, conduct interviews with candidates it determines are most qualified, and forward three to five candidates to the full Board of Regents, which will make the final selection. The new chancellor will succeed Donald N. Langenberg, who will retire on April 30, 2002.

The search committee's RFP states that the consulting firm will work with the committee to "identify, articulate, and prioritize evaluation criteria for candidates." Once a list of candidates has been identified, the firm will "support the evaluation process ... by working closely with the Committee and its staff by guiding discussions of the candidate's qualifications and desirability for the position."

Funk recently recruited former U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services Donna Shalala to the presidency of the University of Miami, and has conducted recent searches for the presidents or chancellors of Vanderbilt, Purdue, and Bucknell universities, as well as for the University of Missouri System, the University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø, College Park, and the University of Wisconsin.

The ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø is the nation's 12th largest university system. The ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø's 11 degree-granting institutions and 2 research institutes enroll nearly 130,000 students worldwide in 600 degree programs delivered in classrooms, laboratories, education centers, and online. The ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø's nationally ranked programs, leading-edge research collaborations, and innovative business partnerships support the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø mission and the goals of the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Strategic Plan in preparing students for the promises and demands of the new century.

Additional information about Bill Funk and Korn/Ferry International is available on the Web at . Additional information about the search for a new ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø chancellor is available on the Web at www.usmd.edu.

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The ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø is governed by a 17-member Board of Regents and includes 13 distinct and complementary institutions: Bowie State University; Coppin State College; Frostburg State University; Salisbury State University; Towson University, University of Baltimore; University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø, Baltimore; University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø, Baltimore County; University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Biotechnology Institute; University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Center for Environmental Science; University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø, College Park; University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Eastern Shore; and University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø University College.

Contact:

Chris Hart
Phone: 301/445-2739
E-mail: chart@usmd.edu