The Daily Bulletin

Our search consultants from Storbeck Search have been engaged in an active national recruitment effort to build an impressive and diverse pool of candidates. The Buffalo State Presidential Search Committee has completed virtual face-to-face video interviews, and we are pleased to announce that the committee has identified a small group of candidates with whom we will schedule additional meetings.

While we had hoped to conduct this search using an open search model, based on the ability to attract and retain these top candidates, SUNY has approved the decision to use a representational search model. In this competitive market, and to protect the professionals we are engaging, it is essential to the process that the names of the candidates remain confidential throughout the process. This means that semifinalists’ names will not be provided to the campus community.

SUNY approved the decision based on extensive consultation with Storbeck Search, the Presidential Search Committee, and the Buffalo State Council and based on recent and past precedent from SUNY presidential searches. This decision was made after careful consideration upon learning that the open search process with public campus meetings would have had a significant negative impact on the candidate pool. To maintain a strong, robust, and diverse applicant pool, this change will serve Buffalo State University’s best interest for its faculty, students, and community. We are committed to ensuring our institution’s strong leadership continuity, and we see this transition as a crucial step toward achieving that.

We will use SUNY’s guidance for this type of search. During a representational search, members of the Buffalo State Council and other designated members of the Buffalo State campus community will be invited to meet with the semifinalist candidates under strict rules of confidentiality. Confidentiality is vital to this model to retain the selected candidates. The structure and makeup of the Presidential Search Committee ensures that all areas of the university have “a voice” in the process.

The Presidential Search Committee and a selection of other campus constituents will confidentially meet with the finalists. The Presidential Search Committee will meet to review feedback from the final interviews, as well as feedback from references, and together will weigh the merits of each of the finalists.

The Buffalo State Council will vote to recommend three finalists to the chancellor and the SUNY Board of Trustees. The chancellor and the SUNY Board of Trustees will meet with the three finalists, the chancellor will make his recommendation to the SUNY Board of Trustees, and the trustees will vote to choose our next president.

It is important that your voice be heard, and we encourage you to submit questions you wish for the designated representatives to ask each candidate. Please submit your questions through this survey link.

Please email Zulaika Rodriguez, assistant vice chancellor for presidential searches and system liaison, with any questions about this type of process.

We appreciate your support and understanding of this process.

Sincerely,

Linda Dobmeier, ’71
Chair, Buffalo State University Presidential Search Committee
Chair, Buffalo State Council