The consultant hired to aid in Eastern’s search for a new president plans to use his network of contacts to better advertise the position.

Jim Appleberry, senior consultant for Academic Search Consultation Service, was hired by the Presidential Search Advisory Committee last week to assist the committee in interviewing potential candidates.

Before the committee can interview those candidates it must first let those qualified know that the opening exists. Appleberry said he and the committee will implement an expansive strategy to lure such candidates.

“We do cast the net broadly and widely,” he said. “So it will be an active recruitment.”

Appleberry’s past experience will help him and the committee cast that net. Two years ago he retired as president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, a job where Appleberry represented over 435 public four-year universities.

Through his tenure as president of the association, Appleberry said he had the opportunity to get to know many presidents and provosts. Those relationships will provide Appleberry a network of people who are looking for a job, or would know someone who might be interested. He said he plans to make phone calls and sent out 50 to 75 letters to boost the recruitment process.

Appleberry said that provosts are often the most typical candidates for moving up to the president position, but qualified applicants can be found in a wide variety of areas, such as the private and government sectors and other campus areas, such as the student affairs department.

Appleberry is currently working on another presidential search at a university in Massachusetts, but he said he would not take on any additional clients while working on Eastern’s search. He said he retired from the association in order to spend time with his family and now that he’s with Academic Search, having two clients is enough.

“It’s probably as much as I’m ever going to do,” Appleberry said.