The Presidential Search Advisory Committee moved closer to finalizing its position description and advertisement Tuesday but pushed back its schedule for selecting a search firm.

Committee members met via conference call to make final revisions to both the position description and the advertisement, which will be placed online and in print.

Committee member, Bud Fischer, a biological sciences professor and chair of the Faculty Senate, said he expected to receive final versions of both the description and the advertisement by today.

“Today we went over the job description and the ad that will go into journals like The Chronicle of Higher Education,” he said Tuesday. “We made our last changes; we’re supposed to see in the next 24 to 48 hours what would be, we hope, the final draft.”

The position description will be posted on a Web site that is being developed for the search, along with other university information that pertains to the search, according to press release from Eastern’s Media Relations.

The press release said Robert Manion, chair of the committee, said Tuesday that the finalized ad would run twice in the Chronicle of Higher Education during November.

Fischer said it would take some time for the ad to run in print, but that it could appear on the publication’s Web site much sooner.

“Once The Chronicle gets it, they can put it online in 24 hours, was what I saw from him (Manion), but it will take two weeks from the time they get it, so we figure it will be at least two weeks from now,” he said.

Qualified candidates are preferred, but not required to have earned a doctorate or terminal degree in their fields. In addition, senior-level administrative experience and a proven track record of leadership, management and resource development are also preferred, the release said.

To receive full consideration, candidates should submit applications by Jan. 7, 2002. Those applications must include a letter that describes why the candidate is interested, what his or her qualifications and education and leadership philosophies are and a list of five contacts, the release said.

Because of scheduling conflicts, Manion has moved the day in which search firms will be interview back from Nov. 5 to Nov. 7. However, according to the release, moving the date will not affect the committee’s timeline, which has a new president in April.