By Joseph Lyell

U of L’s AAUP president says the search for the next university president started off on the wrong foot, but the board of trustees is trying to right the ship. The board has received 17 letters asking the search be opened.

“The board is very aware of your opinions,” said Susan Jarosi at the Nov. 17 Faculty Assembly meeting.

“I am trying to be optimistic,” Jarosi said. She said the Presidential Search Faculty Consultation Committee has not had a conversation with the board about their role in the search.

The faculty listening tour will likely be postponed to sometime in January. Jarosi said they are scheduling a separate tour for alumni and community members for sometime in December.

The Redbook, U of L’s handbook, says, “In making the appointment of the President, the Board shall consult with a faculty committee to be composed of one representative elected for that specific purpose from each of the units listed in Section 3.1.1.”

The “optimal consideration” deadline for presidential applications is Dec. 1, and with the faculty listening tour still not scheduled, faculty wonder if the listening tour is a stunt to appease them.

“If they don’t open the search, how do we know whether there’s diversity in the group of candidates?” Political Science Professor Dewey Clayton said.

The search firm Funk & Associates has a list of candidates to be considered, but the diversity of the candidate pool is unknown.

This story will be updated.

Photo by Shelby Brown / The Louisville Cardinal