After an eight-month search process carried out by the Binghamton University Council ended in a dismissal of all candidates for president of BU, SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher has asked current Interim President C. Peter Magrath to stay on through the end of 2011.
Magrath, who is 77 and whose contract had been set to expire this June, has agreed to stay in office until Dec. 31, 2011.
In the meantime, it is not clear how the search for BU’s next president will continue.
According to Kathryn Grant Madigan, chair of the BU Council as well as its Presidential Search Committee, the candidates submitted to Chancellor Zimpher, whose names have not been released, were told that they would be allowed to withdraw their candidacy, but were rejected by Zimpher before they were given a chance to do so.
Madigan said the Committee was disappointed with the result. In addition, she reported that her recent meeting with Zimpher, when the Board of Trustees visited campus at the end of March, failed to provide any useful new information about what the Chancellor wanted in a presidential candidate.
“The search committee wanted more clarity from Chancellor Zimpher. What does she want? We thought the candidates we had were good,” Madigan said.
Zimpher’s letter stating that she had rejected the two candidates recommended by the BU Council, which on March 4 was released to the press before the Council was notified, announced the chancellor’s intent to ask Magrath to extend his tenure; however, Magrath originally told press only that he would “consider staying on.”
Magrath told Pipe Dream Tuesday that he was not able to commit to the extension immediately because Zimpher’s communication with him had been fleeting and he desired further assurances.
“She was on the run, I was moving around India, South Africa. We couldn’t have a longer conversation,” Magrath said. “I wanted some assurance about support for Binghamton University and upon my return I decided to stay through the calendar year.”
Magrath said he would not stay in office beyond 2011 under any circumstance.
“There is … zero chance I will stay on after 2011, but on Jan. 1, 2012 I will still care about the University, and on Jan. 1, 2013 I will still care about the University, albeit from a distance,” he said.
Magrath’s interim title will be removed once he is formally approved by the SUNY Board of Trustees.
“They agreed to empower me to be really effective and drop the interim tag so I could really kick butt,” Magrath said with a smile.
A number of high level positions within the University are presently held by interim employees. The current Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Jean-Pierre Mileur, current Vice President of Research, Baghat Sammakia and the current Athletic Director, Jim Norris, are all interim officials.
Magrath said that he would not act to elevate any of these high-ranking interims to permanent status or replace them during the duration of his tenure.
“I am permanent and yes I can wave the magic wands and do all kinds of magical stuff, but I will be gone at the end of December,” Magrath said. “Also, there is no evidence that either one of those three gentlemen is impaired by the fact that they have an interim in front of their name.”
He had previously insisted that it would be improper for him to make such personnel changes while he was himself only an interim official, calling it a decision to be made by his permanent successor.
However, Magrath has not shied away from using the power of his office to enter into several international agreements on behalf of the University to form partnerships with foreign universities, including schools in South Korea and India. The University is also currently looking to partner with Korean electronics giant Samsung: top executives from the company will visit the BU campus later this month.
Magrath credited the University’s international expansion and higher diversity to the efforts of his predecessor, Lois DeFleur.
“She pushed it extraordinarily hard, she was extremely proud of it,” Magrath said. “One of the things I really value is that not only are we international, we have a huge mix.”
The president recently returned from a trip to South Africa, where he accepted an honorary doctorate awarded by the University of the Western Cape.
The degree, given to Magrath by UWC Chancellor Desmond Tutu on March 14, will be the last given by the retiring Tutu.