Ball State Starts Search For New President

MUNCIE, Ind. — Both closed-door and public meetings were held at Ball State University Monday in an effort to ward off a vote of no confidence in the board of trustees before the search for a new president begins.

Trustees said that process could take more than a year. Board chairman Rick Hall and board member Hollis Hughes met with more than a dozen faculty, professional staff and students Monday morning to talk about their concerns following the departure of former university president Paul Ferguson.

Hall says the Muncie school will not speed the presidential search process so that a new leader could start when the academic year does in August.

“We’re going to move methodically and thoughtfully forward, but we’re also not going to let time pressure us into a decision that we don’t feel 100 percent comfortable with," he said. "Because Ball State University deserves the very best person.”

Hall says he won’t put a timeline on the effort at all.

Acting President Terry King recently convinced the faculty council to speak with Hall before it voted on a resolution declaring a lack of confidence in the board.

At Monday’s board meeting, Hall named Ball State trustee Matt Momper, who was attending the meeting by telephone, as head of the search committee and says they’ll name others next month. 

The men also say the school will hold several public forums in late April to get input from students, faculty, and alumni on what they want to see in the next president. Dates for those meetings have not yet been set. 

Hall says the university will also hire a professional consulting firm to help lead the search, as it has for past presidential searches.

This article is by Indiana Public Radio's Stephanie Wiechmann and The Associated Press.