A representative of the search firm assisting the University of Iowa in finding next president for the school says they’ve already had a lot of interest.

Current President Bruce Harreld is planning to retire and the process of advertising and recruiting for his replacement is well underway. Rod McDavis of the firm AGB Search briefed university representatives Wednesday. “We have absolutely been inundated every day with interest. I think that this committee needs to know that the University of Iowa is attracting high quality candidates already,” McDavis says. “Now we still have a lot to do, but I want you to know that the initial response has been very, very positive.”

Search committee co-chair John Keller says some of the issues community members want the applicants to address are diversity, equity, and inclusion.  “There’s some common themes that are…that have come forward, things like DEI, communication skills, leadership philosophies, vision for higher ed, collaborative styles and their views on shared governance kinds of perspectives,” Keller says.

The U-I will take applications through March, with the goal of selecting the new president by the end of April. Harreld announced his plans to retire in October, and said he would stay on until his replacement is selected.

(By Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)