Kansas University is looking to hire a new vice chancellor to oversee public affairs for the university.

The position has been vacant since Paul Carttar last held the job in 2006.

Ann Brill, dean of KU’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications, is leading the search committee, which has met once to determine a position description.

“We all start with the walk-on-water position,” Brill said. “KU needs someone who can coordinate a lot of different messages for the Lawrence campus.”

Brill said Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little told the committee to operate under a six-month guideline to find someone to fill the position, but added that finding the right person was more important than meeting a deadline.

The new vice chancellor would report to Gray-Little, and would oversee the directors of university communications, state relations and federal relations. Those three positions had previously reported to the chancellor.

Ideally, Brill said, the committee would like to attract a rising star in the field of strategic communications who could make decisions about internal and external communications.

Committee members have been recommending names for the position, and have been inquiring at other universities with similar jobs to find out not just the required qualifications, but also the “nice-to-haves” in a candidate, Brill said.

An expected salary has not been announced for the position, and will be tied to a candidate’s experience. Carttar had a salary of $202,000 when the job — which was then called an executive vice chancellor — was reorganized out of existence in 2006. The committee is set to begin reviewing applications on Nov. 1.