According to several individuals closely involved in the current process of interviewing candidates for Kansas University dean positions, as well as for the provost and director of libraries, the process is going well.

One senior KU official said candidates for one of the dean positions are the strongest he had seen in the past 25 years for that particular school. Another top official said that, overall, the candidates were true national leaders in their respective fields and that those interested in KU will be pleased with those who are selected.

This sounds good, and we should hope this is indeed the case. Time will tell. It will be interesting to see what yardsticks have been used to describe the candidates as being among the best in the country.

Perhaps this writer has commented too much and too often on the five current vacancies at KU, but it is a tremendously important time for KU and the state of Kansas. Consider the positive message the university would be sending to its faculty, students, Kansas residents, state legislators and others around the country if it selected five truly outstanding individuals to fill the posts of provost, law school dean, social welfare dean, liberal arts and sciences dean and director of libraries.

Kansas and KU have been taking a lot of knocks lately. Jokes about the Kansas State Board of Education, the intelligent design/evolution debate, the department of religious studies mess and other matters have given pundits, non-Kansas educators and others an easy target.

What if KU secured the services of five outstanding people for the open positions, people who merit the highest respect from the academic world? Think what a tonic it would be for current KU faculty members and students. Think what it would mean in helping attract top-flight faculty members, teachers and researchers to Mount Oread to work with nationally recognized deans. Better students would want to come to KU for their research and graduate programs. And consider that the caliber of individuals selected in the current searches will set a standard of excellence – or mediocrity – that will play a significant role when determining what kinds of people will be sought in the next few years at KU when many faculty members will be retiring.

Also, consider how Kansans could acknowledge the derisive jokes and criticisms about Kansas but answer these critics by pointing to the excellence of individuals selected for five very important positions at the university. This would send a powerful message about the goals, leadership and mission of the university – not only for KU but for the state of Kansas.

Unfortunately, there are some matters associated with the search process that cause many on the campus to be concerned. Members of the search committee for one dean’s position recommended three individuals to be interviewed. Those on this committee were surprised and angered to learn the provost had added a person of his own choice to the list of “finalists,” jumping this person over others who had been ranked in the fourth, fifth or sixth position.

Does this mean the provost had his own favorite candidate although those on the search committee had ranked this individual much lower? Is this candidate now favored to win the job?

Members of this committee also questioned the role in this process of a “lame duck” provost who is about to leave his job. This is why it is difficult to understand why the selection of a new provost isn’t the top priority so that the incoming administrator can have a say in who is hired for the dean positions. Conversely, applicants for the deanships and library position would know who their boss is going to be.

Speaking of the provost, it’s likely he may be leaving the university far sooner than many expected, perhaps for an education-related job but not in a teaching or administrative post at another university.

It is understandable that some, maybe many, will say this writer has his needle stuck on the five vacant positions at KU, but it is a terribly important time for the school. Is KU going to demonstrate, by the excellence and academic reputation of those selected for these positions, that it is committed to even higher levels of excellence? Or will the school blow this opportunity and slide along with schools that are willing to settle for the easiest, quickest, most politically correct hiring processes?

KU is an excellent university, but it can be better. It has a good faculty and good students. Its record is excellent. However, morale is not good at the school today. Legislators wonder what is going on and the Kansas Board of Regents doesn’t display much public leadership. There is concern among faculty about the manner in which individuals are selected to be interviewed. Even so, there is a great desire, almost a hunger, by many senior faculty members for leadership, vision and a demonstration that excellence and honesty are the most important priorities in the selection process, not whether the individual is a good fundraiser.

An added question mark in the KU selection process is that applicants are asked to supply the names, addresses and telephone numbers of three references who may be contacted. This sounds normal, but KU adds, “no further reference checks will be made without the approval of the applicant.”

Is there any question that those references supplied by the applicant are going to give glowing reports about the individual? Is this the best way to find out everything that should be known about those seeking a job at KU?

Let’s hope those who say candidates for the KU jobs are excellent, the best available, are correct in their assessment. Otherwise, KU officials will have missed a rare opportunity.

It’s in the hands of a couple of individuals at KU because the concerns of faculty members and those in the public arena – or the media – really don’t mean very much.

Kansas taxpayers, members of the Board of Regents, state legislators, the governor, parents of college students and many others should be terribly concerned about how these vacancies are filled.