Washington University has not had a permanent athletic director since March 2016, but a search committee is close to taking the first major steps to fill that vacancy.
Vice Chancellor for Student Lori White chairs the committee and has enlisted the help of Parker Executive Search, an executive hiring firm headquartered in Atlanta that has done work for entities such as the Tennessee Titans and Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
“They can help us identify good candidates, so we can have a good and diverse pool for the search,” White said.
The deadline to apply for the Wash. U. athletic director (AD) position is Feb. 13.
Parker Executive Search will receive the initial wave of applications and help the search committee create a shortlist of eight to 10 people.
That group, whose identities will be kept confidential, will go through off-campus interviews in the weeks following the application deadline, before the search is narrowed down to the final three. Those candidates will then visit campus publicly in the end of February or beginning of March to meet with various constituencies, before the final hiring decision is made in mid-March.
The new AD will then officially take over July 1.
The application itself contains a long list of expected qualifications including, “budget planning,” expertise in “alumni relations” and knowledge of “facilities planning.”
Aside from the standard criteria, White also noted longevity as an important factor.
“We want someone who wants to be here for a long while,” White said. “Somebody who see’s this as a dream job and wants to make the commitment to be part of our community for years to come.”
Josh Whitman was the last to hold the position of Washington University’s AD.
“I’m awfully excited about the Washington University opportunity,” Whitman told the Central Illinois News-Gazette after being hired by Wash. U. “It’s a chance of a lifetime. I really see that as a career job. I think it’s a destination job.”
Whitman left Wash. U. 23 months later, after being hired to lead the University of Illinois’s athletic program.
The committee in charge of the search consists of administrators, student athletes and alumni appointed by White. Some notable members on the athletic front are senior Deko Ricketts, who owns the school record in the 800-meter run, Vanessa Walby, head coach of the 2016 national runner-up Wash. U. volleyball team, and junior Megan Wolf, a defender for the 2016 national champion women’s soccer team.
“We wanted to find folks who had knowledge of intercollegiate athletics at Washington University,” White said.
Vice Provost of Admissions and Financial Aid Ronne Turner and Robyn Hadley, associate vice chancellor for student affairs, are also part of the committee.
“We also thought it was important to have folks who regularly interact with the athletic director as part of the search committee,” White continued.
Until a new AD is chosen, Chris Peacock will continue to serve as interim AD after taking over the interim position following Dean of Students Justin Carroll’s retirement. Peacock, however, does have the opportunity to apply for the permanent position.
“This is probably the best Division III job, in my opinion in the country, so I’m sure there’ll be no shortage of great applicants,” Peacock said. As of Jan. 18, he was still considering whether to apply or not.