One finalist for president heads to University of Montana
Keila Szpaller
(Daily Montanan) One finalist for the University of Montana president job is headed to campus soon as part of the search for the Missoula flagship’s new leader, according to the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education.
In his most recent message about filling the job, Commissioner Clayton Christian said the search was “highly productive” and plans were underway to invite “a finalist candidate” to UM on April 6 and 7.
More than 60 candidates applied for the job, and with help from an advisory group appointed along the way, 10 had advanced for further consideration, according to earlier updates from Christian.
Monday, a spokesperson for the Commissioner’s Office declined to name the finalist but said the office would provide additional information within days.
“We’re excited to share that we’ll be releasing both the finalist’s biographical information and details about the upcoming campus visit later this week,” said Leanne Kurtz, communications director for the Commissioner’s Office, in an email.
In January, then-UM President Seth Bodnar stepped down to pursue a different role in public service, and he subsequently announced a U.S. Senate run as an independent candidate.
Christian announced an expedited president search would take place, partly to retain momentum on campus, with plans to appoint a new leader likely by the end of April.
Monday, Kurtz did not address questions about the search, including how the group narrowed the pool of more than 60 candidates to one finalist.
She also didn’t address how the rest of the process will unfold between the campus visit and a recommendation to the Board of Regents or whether the group considered a priority from faculty leadership that a new president have deep roots in academia.
Christian earlier said he intended to move quickly in naming a new president, with support for that approach from AGB Search, a firm that helped with the search.
Christian said higher education experiences volatility, and a strung out process could be detrimental for UM’s gains.
When Bodnar took the helm at UM in 2018, the university was in the midst of an enrollment slide.
Since then, enrollment has stabilized, and UM has seen related successes such as the highest retention rate since 2015 and a more than 40% increase in Native American enrollment since 2018.