At March 1’s presidential search committee meeting the 18-prospect pool was reduced to two. On March 4, the candidates were interviewed by the search committee to share experiences and attributes that could make them fit for the position.
Courtesy of USF
By Sofía García Vargas
The University of South Florida could soon have a new president.
The university’s official presidential search committee announced last week that it advanced two candidates to the final stage: Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Talley and USF’s Interim President Rhea Law.
At a March 1 presidential search committee meeting, the 18-prospect pool was reduced to two, with a unanimous decision on advancing Law to the interview stage, while Talley gained a five-vote consideration.
During the meeting, Alberto Pimentel from SP&A Executive Search, the firm in charge of the recruitment process, emphasized the extensiveness of the search both in focus and time.
SP&A is also in charge of searches for positions at universities across the country — like Florida State University and Texas A&M University.
SP&A’s outreach strategy looked at individuals holding president, vice president, provost and dean positions at universities with high levels of research, academics in federal agencies, senior-level roles in national laboratories (many associated with universities) and applicants coming from foundations with a focus in high education.
After former USF President Steve Currall’s sudden retirement in July of last year, Board of Trustees (BOT) Chair Will Weatherford recommended Law to serve as interim president.
Even though she claimed that she would not apply for the permanent position, Law filed an application to stay in the role long-term at the end of February.
In her letter of application for the presidential role, Law stated her desire to focus on “giving faculty, staff and students the tools they need to maximize success within this new paradigm,” “creating a culture of inclusive excellence” and “building infrastructure for innovation.”
During Tuesday’s meeting, chair of the committee, Michael Griffin, thanked the community for its engagement in the selection process of the next USF president.
Public engagement was decisive in the recruitment process as it weighed input from students, faculty, staff, alumni and other supporters of the university on what they would like to see in USF’s eighth president.
On Friday, both candidates participated in an interview session with the search committee from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. in Traditions Hall at the Gibbons Alumni Center on the Tampa campus.
During the interview, the candidates discussed subjects like community engagement, fundraising and resource development, diversity, athletics and promoting “OneUSF.”
For his opening statement, Talley expressed his desire to bridge academics, community and business.
Law emphasized that during her time as interim president she led the redevelopment of USF’s five-year strategic plan, “In Pursuit of Excellence,” collaborated between the university’s three campuses under “OneUSF” and halted controversial plans to develop the USF Forest Preserve.
Both candidates agreed on the importance of giving students the tools, education, support and encouragement to connect and network with the community to be successful.
After the interviews, the committee evaluated each candidate and provided feedback on their answers.
One committee member discussed Talley’s experiences and demonstrated the diversity he could bring to USF from them. He was also described as an important potential asset as an “incredible fundraiser, while also bringing an academic background, a business background and all of his impeccable leadership skills.”
Another member highlighted Talley’s impressive 29-page long curriculum, stating that “it is very easy to be impressed with his history with the military and all that work that he has done in the past with many universities.” However, none of that work was done at USF, making it “a long transition period along a long learning curve.”
As for Law, the committee expressed the importance of her continuous involvement with the university over the years, and how that puts her one step ahead in the process.
“Listening to President Law is organic. She knows this university; she knows this community and she understands the state,” one member said. “There’s no transition period issues. There’s no learning curve. When it comes to [Law], she’s a proven leader and she has been acting as a president for seven months now. And I would hate for that to stop while somebody else needs to learn about our area, our contacts and so forth.”
Following the discussion, the committee decided to proceed with both Talley and Law to the next step of the presidential search –– with Talley receiving seven votes and Law with an unanimous decision.
The next stage includes campus visits, an interview with the BOT and then a final meeting with the Florida Board of Governors (BOG). After each campus visit, the community will be able to share feedback via the Presidential Search website, which will be reviewed by the BOT before their interview with the candidates.
When a decision is made, it will need confirmation from the BOG.
“The hiring of the president is one of the board’s most important responsibilities. The leader of our great university will make an impact on literally hundreds of thousands of lives and will play a major role in shaping the progress of our region,” Griffin said in a university-wide email.
Learn more about the candidates:
Rhea Law
- Founding member of the USF BOT, where she spent five years as vice chair and four years as the first and only female chair.
- Founding member of the Board of Directors of the USF Law Alumni Society.
- Member of the USF Research Foundation Board.
- Named Distinguished Alumna by the USF Alumni Association in 2018.
- Former chair of the Board of Directors for the Health Professions Conferencing Corporation with the USF Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS).
- Honorary member of the USF Chapter of the National Academy of Inventors.
- Honorary Doctor of Medicine Degree from the USF Morsani College of Medicine.
- Served on the Board of Directors for the Tampa Bay Technology Forum and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute Board of Directors.
- Currently serves on Moffitt’s National Advisory Board.
- Former chief executive officer and chair of the board of Fowler White Boggs, and led the merger of Fowler with a national firm, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney.
- Worked as the university research project administrator for the Office of Sponsored Research.
- Served as chair of the Board of Overseers at Stetson University College of Law, helping to select both a dean of the College of Law and president of the university.
Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Talley
- Senior executive with experience in military, academic, corporate and government positions.
- Has experience in large-scale organizations, public-private partnerships, national and cybersecurity, environmental and energy sustainability, disaster emergency management, infrastructure resilience, data analytics and technology, R&D and higher education.
- Currently serves as a member of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition based in Washington D.C., an organization that works to strengthen tools of national security.
- Serves as president and CEO of The Public Private Partnership Initiatives (P3i) Group, a management consulting firm for government, business, not-for-profit and academia.
- His military career included duty in the United States, Korea, Kuwait and Iraq.
- Appointed to the rank of lieutenant general and to a four-year term as the 32nd chief of Army Reserve and seventh commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve Command in 2012.
- Awarded two Army Distinguished Medals and three Bronze Star Medals.
