The person to replace Jeff Cooley as vice president for business affairs could be in place in April, said Robert Augustine, committee chair for the search advisory committee for the vice president for business affairs.

“If possible the person could start as early as April 1,” Augustine said. “It may not be possible for the person that we name, but that would be the soonest that we could have someone in place we think.”

The search advisory committee was formed, has met and is moving forward with the search process, said President Bill Perry.

Advertising for the position will begin this week.

The committee met for the first time on Sept. 29, and at that time, they wrote the position announcement that outlines the duties, responsibilities and qualifications for the position.

The announcement also states what each applicant must submit to have a complete application.

“That announcement is nearly finished,” Augustine said. “We worked on a draft that Monday night. It has gone back to the president for final review, and I should have that ready probably on Monday or Tuesday of (this) week.”

As soon as the announcement is ready and approved, it will be posted at a Web site titled “vice president for business affairs opening,” Augustine said.

He said after the document is posted on the Web site, the committee will immediately start sending out information to advertisers that will direct applicants to go to the Web site to apply.

He said the committee hopes to get the ads into their major venues this week.

“Our goal is to advertise widely and bring in a very strong pool of applicants,” Augustine said. “Our responsibility is to get the information on the position out in a broad range of venues and so we can attract the best applicants possible.”

Once those applications come in, it is the committee’s responsibility to narrow the pool down to the applicants the committee wants to bring to campus for interviews.

In a memorandum to the committee members on Sept. 15, Perry detailed the committee’s duties.

In it, he said, “To be successful, the search process must involve aggressive advertising, recruiting and screening of candidates to make sure that the best qualified persons are considered.”

Perry said in the memorandum that the committee should ultimately narrow the initial pool to five or six applicants to bring to campus for interviews.

“Upon completion of on-campus interviews with the appropriate groups, the committee will collect the reactions of various university constituents, summarize these and submit to my office an unranked list of at least three acceptable candidates,” Perry said in the memorandum.

Augustine said the committee hopes to conduct the interviews in the early part of the spring semester.

“That’s our goal to conduct the interviews and give him our information by March 1,” Augustine said.

The committee will send the president outlines of the applicants’ strengths and weaknesses following the interviews and then the president will select the person for the position.

“That would give (Perry) time in March to name the person if possible,” Augustine said.

In Perry’s memorandum, he said, “I have confidence that the committee will be successful in identifying strong candidates and that we will be able to appoint someone who will assume the position on or about January 1, 2009.”

Augustine said that was not enough time to draw a good applicant pool and hold interviews.

“It will take us the next six weeks to get the ad out and attract applicants and get a good applicant pool,” he said. “It won’t be possible for us to hold interviews in the fall semester.”

Augustine said he and Perry met to go over Augustine’s timeline of naming the new vice president by April 1 and concluded the date was acceptable.

“I don’t know what the plan is at the time that (Cooley) retires,” Augustine said. “We will not be done with the process.”

Perry could not be reached for comment regarding what the plan was after Cooley retires and before the new vice president is named.

The committee consists of Greg Boyd, Linda Holloway, Mark Hudson, Blair Lord, Pat McCallister, Patricia Poulter, Charles Phillips, Gary Reed, Denis Roche, John Stimac and Tiffany Turner.

“The members were chosen after consultation with the vice presidents, the Faculty Senate, the Staff Senate, the Student Senate and the Council of Chairs,” Perry said.

Emily Zulz can be reached at 581-7942 or at eazulz@eiu.edu.