The Faculty Senate discussed last year’s failed presidential search with two members of the Board of Trustees at a special meeting yesterday.

BOT Chair Nate Anderson and Trustee Julie Nimmons participated in a forum with the senate to answer questions and hear concerns.

“We’re here on your request,” Anderson said, but he also stated he and Nimmons would not partake in any discussion involving the administration as they represent the administration.

However, the BOT has a hand in choosing administrators, which was a hot topic with the Faculty Senate.

In last year’s presidential search, trustees, faculty members, students and staff, and a hired consulting firm, made up the presidential search advisory committee, which reported to the BOT.

The search committee interviewed many candidates last spring, and narrowed the presidential choices down to three finalists. Interim President Lou Hencken was not among the final three.

Although the search committee spent hundreds of hours looking for a prospective president, the search was unsuccessful.

Nimmons, who served on the search committee, said the board members did not have the strongest voice in the committee, nor did they override the work of the committee.

The BOT does have the final “say-so” in picking a president, Anderson said, but added at no time did the board members exert added power.

Anderson said the board did not purposely reject all the candidates to keep Hencken on as interim president for another two-year term.

He also dispelled rumors that the BOT planned to drop the “interim” from Hencken’s title, although he said he personally is not against it. The BOT has had the opportunity to remove “interim,” but it felt it wouldn’t matter in the end.

“Lou has a two-year term, but, if we find a candidate, we can name him or her as president at any time,” Anderson said.

The BOT is satisfied with Hencken at the time being because he is familiar with the university and he continues to maintain the status of the university.

“The search is still in progress,” Anderson said. “We want to find the best-fitting candidate for this school-someone who would take this school into the future.”

Before the end of Hencken’s term, the BOT hopes to have a president in place.

For the next presidential search, which will resume again in April, both Nimmons and Anderson said time is an important element. The last search was too quick.

“It was a rushed job, and when you do a rushed job, there’s a risk,” Anderson said.

The BOT does not plan to make the next search overly difficult, nor does the board want to run candidates away with misrepresentations of the university.

“As a whole, the Board of Trustees is not looking for a president,” Anderson said. “The university is looking for a president.”