The Vice President for Frost Campus Search Committee is currently reviewing 15 candidates, including current Interim Vice President for the Frost Campus Manoj Patankar, for the permanent position. The committee’s task is narrowing the pool to three or four candidates, at which point Saint Louis University President Lawrence Biondi, S.J., will review and appoint a candidate based on the committee’s recommendation.

“I am a candidate, I have applied and right now I am taking it one day at a time,” Patankar said.

The vice president for Frost Campus is responsible for nine academic colleges, enrollment management, University Libraries, faculty grievances, and appointment, rank and tenure. The goal of the committee is to have the next vice president in place by the start of the fiscal year 2011.

The search committee is looking for candidates from the SLU community, as well as from the national level. Interested applicants are being directed to the committee’s website, which gives information on the position and general information about the University.

According to the position’s description, a candidate for this position must have a solid record of administrative leadership and experience in higher education, and hold the highest academic degree appropriate to his or her discipline. The candidate must also have a strong commitment to service and diversity, as well as the ability to work effectively with administrators, faculty, students, staff and outside constituencies.

“We want strong applicants and [Biondi] wants to make sure we choose the best candidate for the position,” Teri Murray, chair of the vice president for Frost Campus Search Committee, said. “It is the president’s decision in the end.”

The search committee consists of eight faculty members from various schools and departments, one staff member and Student Government Association President Michael Harriss.

“Each committee member has an equal voice as they are developing interview questions and reviewing applications,” Murray said.

This committee will accept applications and nominations until the position is filled. Those in contention can either apply or be nominated for the position, as the committee currently has 10 applicants and five nominations. Applicants are asked to include a statement of interest, current curriculum vitae and the contact information of five references.

In a Jan. 21 message to the SLU community, Biondi eliminated the title of “Provost,” splitting the position into three senior vice president positions, including vice president for Frost Campus, vice president for Health Sciences and vice president and Rector for the Madrid Campus.

“The new structure will ensure that every academic unit is equally represented in decision making,” Biondi said in the January message. “This will enhance academic collaboration across the campuses.”

For the past seven years, Joe Weixlmann held the provost position until he stepped down in August for personal and professional reasons. Patankar was then appointed by Biondi to be the interim for the position until a permanent candidate could be found. Weixlmann, who is a finalist for the provost position at Loyola University in Chicago, is not a candidate for the vice president for Frost Campus position.

“I served longer in the position of provost than most people do, and I was able to do a lot of good things,” Weixlmann said. “It is time for them to bring in a fresh vision and new perspectives to the position.”

Additional reporting by Mike Indergaard