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The Oregon University System has come a long way in trying to recruit and select presidents for its regional universities. Witness the process used to recruit and select the next president of Eastern Oregon University.
We could know by Friday afternoon who EOU’s next president will be. The State Board of Higher Education and Chancellor George Pernsteiner will be interviewing two finalists in executive (closed) session Friday morning. At 2:30 p.m. the board is scheduled to make a decision.
We do know that of the four finalists who visited campus in February, the field has been narrowed to two — Linda Rinker and Bob Davies. Rinker is provost and vice president for academic affairs at Western Connecticut State University. Davies is vice president for university relations at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. One of these two, unless the board feels uncomfortable with both, will become EOU’s next president.
Both finalists seemed to find considerable support in meetings with various groups during their two-day visits to the campus. While Rinker has the stronger academic credentials and background, Davies knows about outreach to the community. That’s not to say Rinker would be lacking in outreach nor Davies in academics. Both are quality candidates and sincerely seem like they would love to be a part of EOU and Northeast Oregon for many years to come.
The two are the result of a search that targeted specific potential candidates. The OUS hired a search firm to seek out candidates for the EOU presidency. The “headhunter,’’ as such firms are known, came up with a field of candidates and the EOU Presidential Search Committee took it from there. The four who were invited to campus for interviews all seemed sincerely interested in the position, and not solely as a stepping stone to a larger university.
Both Rinker and Davies say they’d be happy to make EOU — and La Grande — their home.
EOU needs that kind of dedication. The OUS and the chancellor are to be commended for recognizing that need and putting in place a process that will work toward EOU’s long-term success — and survival.
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Opinion 
