Pocatello is also home to Idaho State University. The university sits kind of tucked away on the southeast side of the city and for the most part is generally contained into its own world. My personal observation is that the relationship between the University and the City is often strained. Today’s headline on the sports section of the local newspaper reads:

Taking a look back at 2005: ISU looking to clean up its image

The off-the-field antics of the University athletes over the past year is the main point of this opinion piece (presented as a news item). For certain, Paul Bubb, the newly minted Athletic Director, has his work cut out for him — both on and off the athletic field. But, I digress. The article just highlights in my mind the fact that the community and the University are not often on the same page and quite often simply ignore each other.

The University President has also not enjoyed a good year. Earlier in the year, the State Board of Education let it be known that they were ready for a new university president. Shortly thereafter, Richard Bowen, then president of the University, announced that he would be resigning when a replacement had been found. A couple of months later, another tempest broke out when the classified staff (that is, those not in teaching positions at the University) were given a significant salary increase while the teaching staff was not. That was followed by a vote of no-confidence by the Faculty Senate. The result was the president resigned and the post is now vacant.

So, a search for a new University President is underway. A week or so ago the University announced that the candidate list had been shorted to four people of whom one is a clear leader. No further information or identification was provided. A few days ago the University announced that they would identify the candidates on January 3rd, 2006. They would be coming to the University and would be meeting with various University and community leaders.

That announcement triggered a question: What if corporations followed a similar process to select their Chief Executive Officer? The process followed by most companies seems to resemble sausage making: the results are generally palatable but the “how it’s done” is not. In most companies, the Board of Directors makes the final decision. Quite often, this is a rubber-stamp of what the current CEO recommends — particularly since the CEO selects the board members (somewhat of an incestuous relationship).

So, what if a Board of Directors narrowed a candidate list down to three or four people and announced them to the world? They would then be vetted by the shareholders, the public, company employees, and anyone else with an interest. The Board of Directors could then make the final selection, but with significantly more input than they have today. I think this would be a Good Thing.

Meanwhile, I’ll be following the process to select the new Idaho State University President with some interest. Will this process work like I have it envisioned? Or will it turn into a political sham? We’ll see.