Candidates selected for interim president

The selection committee for an interim-president is working quickly. It already has shortlisted two candidates since past-president Dr. Anne Leavitt left her post only a week ago.
It’s been narrowed down to Dr. Neil Robertson, long-time King’s professor, and Dr. George Cooper, former chair of the King’s Board of Governors, says an email from committee chair Dale Godsoe.
Robertson has been a member of the King’s faculty for many years and helped found the Early Modern Studies department at King’s, according to his university website. He also sat on the committee considering funding for the Chaplain last December, and was featured in our article on the topic.
Cooper is a senior partner of the Halifax law firm, McInnes Cooper and has sat on many boards in addition to the one at King’s, including that of CBC/Radio Canada and Michaelle Jean Foundation. He also gave the 2008 convocation speech for King’s.
Anyone in the King’s community can attend a community forum Friday morning in the KTS lecture hall on the second floor of the New Academic Building at King’s.
Robertson speaks from 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., and Cooper speaks from 10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
The forums will be “casual and conversational,” allowing for a Q&A after a short presentation by each candidate, says the email.
The committee then will collect feedback, meet to review it on Sunday and present a recommendation to the Board of Governors on Monday.
Leavitt left her position last Thursday after giving one week’s notice to the board. Vice-president Kim Kierans served as acting president following Leavitt’s resignation, but Kierans left on Saturday to teach in the Philippines and Cambodia for a month.
Selection committee member Nick Stark said last week that the group is searching for “the candidate who is the best fit for King’s.”
Strong financial management also is top priority, according to an email from the committee sent last week after Leavitt’s departure. The school faces many financial issues, reads the email, including on-going renovations to the President’s Lodge, the Wardroom and the Pit, as well as “external fiscal challenges.”
“In sum, we seek someone who can mobilize our community and allow King’s to realize its great potential more fully,” reads the email.
The successful candidate of this search will serve a two-year term, as the board looks for a longer-term president.