Letter to the Editor: UNI Presidential Search Process Was Absurd

Letter to the editor from Kevin O'Kane:

Concerning the UNI presidential search: has anyone considered the basic absurdity of the BoR UNI president interview schedule?

Are we really to believe that the procedure is either ethical, legal or honest?

Have you ever heard of a case where the candidates for such an important position meet only once and briefly with their potential new bosses (the BoR) and then, after the BoR indulge in yet another lavish, catered, white glove dinner, the BoR announces a winner who happily skips forward for a blushing acceptance speech?

Is this a search for the chief executive of a multi-hundred million dollar enterprise employing thousands of people, or is it the Grammies?

Have you ever heard of a responsible person considering such a position not negotiating? Are there no issues our new president wants to resolve with his new masters, no guarantees he needs to secure? Is he so sure footed that he would accept an offer without taking any time to consider it?

Or, has the whole farce been a charade? Has the position already been negotiated? Have the faculty and staff been ignored yet again?

A university system being run by top political donors and political insiders is doomed. Iowa deserves better than the Board of Regents.