Wright State could choose next president next week

Wright State University has nearly completed the search for its eighth president.

The board of trustees will meet in executive session at 4 p.m. Monday to discuss the three presidential finalists who visited campus in the last two weeks, said Doug Fecher, trustee and presidential search committee chairman. Fecher said officials would like to name the next president as soon as possible but could not give an exact date.

Over the last two weeks, the university welcomed three finalists to campus. While in town, the finalists participated in forums with students, staff and faculty, visited WSU’s lake campus in Celina and met with outgoing President David Hopkins.

Each finalist is from a university half the size or smaller than Wright State, meaning whoever is named president could not only get a promotion but a significant pay raise.

Between 2014 and 2015, Hopkins’ base pay topped $424,000, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, an amount that’s more than double the salaries of two finalists.

With Hopkins set to retire when his contract expires at the end of June, the next president will take the reigns of Wright State this summer.

Below is some background on each candidate and some information about their visit:

Since 2010, Shields, 61, has served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, a college of just under 9,000 students.

Before that, he served as acting vice president of student affairs at City College of New York-City University of New York. He has also held administrative positions at the Phoenix School of Law, Duke University School of Law, the University of Michigan Law School and the University of Iowa, according to his resume.

Shields earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Graceland College in 1977 and he earned a law degree from the University of Iowa in 1982, according to UW-Platteville.

Shields was the first finalist to visit campus and in forums with students he talked about his experiences in higher education, such as promoting diversity and managing budget issues.

Since he visited, information surfaced that Shields' administration in Platteville is facing allegations of retaliating against a professor who helped a student report sexual harassment by another professor. Wright State has asked its search firm to further investigate the claims against Shields.

Ford has served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside since 2009.

UW-Parkside, a college of just under 5,000 students located in Kenosha Wisconsin, is a branch of the University of Wisconsin system.

She previously served as vice president of student affairs at the University of West Florida, according to her resume. She also held administrative positions at Spalding University in Louisville.

Ford earned her bachelor’s degree in counseling and guidance form the University of Louisville in 1987, a masters degree in education from Indiana University in 1989 and a doctorate of education from the University of Louisville in 1996, according to her resume.

When Ford spoke to students and staff in a forum at Wright State, she said her leadership is rooted in trust, communication, accountability and transparency.

Schrader has served as the first female chancellor of the Missouri University of Science and Technology since 2012.

Missouri S&T, located in Rolla, Missouri, is a college of just under 9,000 students.

Before heading to Missouri, Schrader served as associate vice president for strategic research initiatives at Boise State University from 2011 to 2012 and as dean of the college of engineering there from 2003 to 2011. She has also held administrative positions at the University of Texas at San Antonio, according to her resume.

Schrader earned her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Valparaiso University in 1984, a masters degree in electrical engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 1987 and a doctorate in philosophy in 1991 from Notre Dame, according to her resume.

Schrader was the final candidate to visit Wright State’s campus. While visiting there she told students and staff that Wright State reminds her of Boise State in that it seems like an institution that is just now reaching the national stage. She also spoke of her experience managing budgets and promoting diversity and inclusion.

A search of Idaho court records shows Schrader was arrested in 2009 in for driving under the influence. Reached on Friday, Schrader said the charge was dismissed. She also said she disclosed the arrest to the search firm helping to find Wright State’s nex president, and Fecher confirmed that the committee was made aware of the arrest.

“In the eight years since it happened it has not received any media attention despite me holding other high profile jobs in education,” Schrader said. “People aren’t perfect. It’s not going to repeat itself.”

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