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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 14, 2004
Alumni Association seeks CEO
Search committee to accept applications for position in August
By Jay Senter
jsenter@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas Alumni Association has assembled a search committee and begun seeking out a full-time replacement for former president and Chief Executive Officer Fred Williams.
University Chancellor Emeritus Del Shankel has served as the interim president and CEO since Williams was let go in May.
Search committee chairman Robert Driscoll, an attorney with the Kansas City, Mo., law firm Stinson Morrison Hecker, said the Alumni Association was looking for a candidate who could work effectively with the executive board as well as campus administrators and University alumni.
The search committee will begin seeking applicants soon, and will place want ads for the position in national trade publications.
Driscoll said the committee would start accepting applications for the position in late August, and that equal consideration would be given to internal and external candidates.
Linda Warren, who completed her term as Alumni Association executive board chairwoman on June 30 and is serving on the search committee, said she expected the search to take three to six months.
Warren said that having an experienced administrator like Shankel serving as the acting president would give the committee flexibility in the search process.
"We are confident that the association will be in good hands as we take the time we need to find exactly the right person to guide the association in the years ahead," she said.
Williams was relieved of duty after commencement weekend for undisclosed reasons, and has been negotiating with the Alumni Association to have the remainder of his contract paid out.
Williams' attorney, Roger Stanton, said that while he hoped the parties could reach an agreement through negotiation, he would probably bring legal action against the Alumni
Association if the issue was not resolved by late August.
Though board members have refused to discuss the specifics of Williams' firing.
Borden acknowledged that "there had been some breakdowns in certain areas" during Williams' tenure.
But Borden said the board was focused on conducting a thorough search to find the right candidate to fill the presidency and lead the Alumni Association forward.
"We've got the time now to find a lot of candidates, and hopefully find the person who will lead us for the next twenty years," Borden said.
The remainder of the search committee members are:
Frank Becker, chairman of the University Endowment Association
A. Drue Jennings, who served as interim athletics director in 2003
David Shulenburger, University provost and executive vice chancellor.
Larry Borden , who began his term as Alumni Association board chairman July 1.
- Edited by Miranda Lenning
LAWRENCE
Outdoor Aquatic Center closed after fecal matter discovered
The Lawrence Outdoor Aquatic Center closed Saturday to superchlorinate the pool after a fecal accident occurred in the water.
Fecal matter in swimming pools can be a sign of cryptosporidium, a microscopic parasite transmitted through the swallowing of water.
Symptoms of cryptosporidium include upset stomach, diarrhea, fever and vomiting.
The Lawrence Outdoor Aquatic Center developed a policy this year that anytime there was a possible health or sanitary problem, the pool would be closed and the health department notified, said Fred DeVictor, director of Lawrence Parks and Recreation.
"There have been no positive tests for cryptosporidium at the swimming pool," DeVictor said. "But we want to provide safe facilities and will cooperate with the health department."
Superchlorination consists of adding a significantly larger amount of chlorine to the pool, raising the level from 3 parts per million to 20 parts per million.
The pool reopened at 1 p.m. Monday after being sanitized.
Julie Jones