The University of California Board of Regents has created a special committee to begin the search and nomination process for selecting a new president of the UC system, who will succeed current UC President Mark Yudof.

Yudof, who will be leaving his post as the leader of the UC system late August, has been acting as the University’s leading official since June 2008. After Yudof announced his resignation in January, UC Board of Regents Chair Sherry Lansing began forming the Special Committee to Consider the Selection of a President, which is devoted to finding, evaluating and interviewing prospective applicants.

With Lansing as the chair of the committee, which will include ex officio member Governor Jerry Brown, the group will move forward by working with the national executive search firm Isaacson, Miller. The firm regularly helps major educational institutions, such as Harvard University and Cambridge University, find qualified top officials and presidents, and has previously worked with the UC to fill various academic positions.

UC Regent Bruce Varner has also been appointed to the committee as vice chair and other members include Regents Richard Blum, Russell S. Gould, Bonnie Reiss, George Keiffer and Fred Ruiz. Student Regent Jonathan Stein and Alumni Regent Ronald Rubenstein have also been appointed as special committee members.

The UC Regents will be assisted by an Academic Advisory Committee that includes students, staff and alumni groups who will all be responsible for providing input during the selection process.

The Special Committee to Consider the Selection of a President will consult university groups from all 10 campuses, allowing for recommendations from the Regents committee and the Academic Advisory Committee to be checked by student, faculty, staff and alumni groups.

Last week the special committee held their first meeting with representatives from Isaacson, Miller and spoke about how to proceed with the process of searching for a new president. The committee is projected to present their recommendations for President Yudof’s successor to the Board of Regents at their upcoming July meeting.

 A version of this article appeared on page 6 of March 4st, 2013’s print edition of the Nexus

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