UCF Board of Trustees Chair Beverly Seay on Wednesday selected Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates to assist with the search for the university’s next president.
Seay made her selection following input from the Board of Trustees on Wednesday and the 15-member Presidential Search Committee’s recommendation on Tuesday. The committee heard presentations from five firms.
Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates will help identify and recruit potential candidates to be UCF’s new leader. Seay, who also chairs the search committee, noted that the firm was enthusiastic about working with UCF and has deep experience representing universities that have grown rapidly, as well as many public and Association of American Universities schools around the country.
“The main thing is to really understand our unique university and all the wonderful things we have going on here – the students, the faculty, the research, the community involvement, and our diversity,” Seay says. “We’ll have a very exciting pool of candidates to choose from.”
The Presidential Search Committee will recommend finalists to the full Board of Trustees, which will select the next president. Committee members also will lead listening sessions during which they will seek input from students, faculty, staff, alumni and the community.
The committee wants robust input from the campus and the community to determine what qualities are desired in a new president and to provide feedback on candidates.
Committee members with different backgrounds and perspectives will join together to lead listening sessions. There will be sessions at several UCF campuses and an opportunity for online feedback.
Details about those feedback opportunities will be provided as soon as they are available.
Seay has committed to overseeing a transparent and inclusive search process and to recruiting a highly qualified and diverse pool of candidates.
At Tuesday’s meeting, search committee members questioned the firms about what excites them about the UCF position as well as how they would go about attracting a highly qualified and diverse pool.
“I felt like Storbeck was best prepared to sell UCF to potential candidates,” says Alex Martins, vice chair for the Board of Trustees and the search committee. “They were very well-educated and knew a lot about the university. They had enthusiasm about selling the university and the position to potential candidates.”
The next president is expected to be chosen in spring 2020 and start in summer 2020.
For information about the search, visit ucf.edu/presidential-search
