The chairman of the search committee tasked with winnowing the field for Kansas University’s next chancellor called for an aggressive timeline for naming KU’s next leader.

Chairman Drue Jennings said that in a perfect world he would like to have a leader named, hired and beginning the job by July 1, when current KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway is scheduled to step down.

“I think we ought to avoid, in this critical juncture of the university, a vacuum of leadership,” he told the committee during its first meeting Monday.

Jennings also instructed the group to be aggressive, noting that he has conducted a wide range of searches — including those that resulted in the hiring of Athletic Director Lew Perkins and men’s basketball coach Bill Self — and that often the best candidates aren’t looking for work.

“This is a tremendous time for someone to be attracted to this institution,” he said.

Kurt Watson, chairman of the KU Endowment Board and Executive Committee, summed up the thoughts of many in the room who expressed a shoot-for-the-stars attitude toward the search.

“We have to believe that we deserve excellence,” he said.

As the group began to outline leadership characteristics it will seek for the next university leader, factors that came up again and again included fundraising ability, communication skills and excellent leadership traits.

As some on the committee called for nontraditional candidates, Bill Funk, an outside search consultant, said all candidates would be reviewed and accepted, including those outside the academic world.

He cautioned that many otherwise-qualified candidates outside academia are often less familiar with management styles at universities, including shared governance and tenure-track positions.

Dick Bond, a former state legislator and former chairman of the Board of Regents, agreed that managing faculty can take a different kind of skill set.

“It takes a unique management style to keep the peace,” he said.

The confidentiality of the candidates involved was heavily stressed to the committee — committee members signed a document promising not to publicly discuss candidates who were being considered for the position.

Jennings offered his opinion that the search be conducted differently than one being done at Kansas State University, where finalists were announced to the public and came to campus to meet with faculty and students, to protect the privacy of the candidates.

He said he preferred to find other ways for those constituencies to vet candidates, and noted that many members of the search committee were chosen because they represented the interests of their respective groups.

No decision was made, but Regent Jill Docking said the process of publicly announcing finalists had upsides in addition to the downsides, including making sure anyone interested in the finalists would have an opportunity to be involved in the process.

Funk said he expected the committee would be dealing with about 40 to 60 candidates for the position. He said interest would likely be high, and the current going salary rate for campus leaders of major research institutions is about $400,000 to $500,000.

By early April, the group will reassemble and narrow the field of 40 to 60 down to about 10 to 15, creating a “short list” of preferred candidates.

From there, about six to 10 will be interviewed to determine the three to five finalists to forward to the regents, who make the final decision.