Thepresidential selectionprocessat LongwoodUniversityis not accompanied by poster campaigns and mudslinging, unlike a typical United States presidential election. In fact, it is a pretty civilized process.
It is also extremely complex. On Saturday, March 23, LongwoodUniversity
students, faculty and staff learned that the university’s 26th president will be W. Taylor Reveley IV, who is currently Managing Director of University of Virginia’s Miller Center. While many thought the announcement was sudden, the decision wasn’t a quick one.
Last summer, the university faced the task of launching a presidential search less than two years after the Board of Visitors (BOV) named Brig. Gen. Patrick Finnegan as university president.Finneganresignedfromhis presidency on June 30 due to unnamed health- related issues, an action that surprised many.
Students knew Finnegan as the president who sat with them at Dorrill Dining Hall and splashed other students with paint when he participated in Color Wars. Faculty and staff saw him as the leader who tackled a number of issues and launched initiatives with the academic strategic plan. All of these connections made it seem like a personal loss, and it was. But the university had also lost a president.
So began the nine month-long presidential search. While the BOV appoints the president, the Presidential Search Advisory Committee conducted a great deal of the search process. This committee consisted of 15 individuals, including BOV members, faculty and staff, and one student representative.
Before finding and interviewing specific candidates, the Presidential Search Advisory Committee held sessions around campus for students, faculty and staff, as well as particular groups within the university, asking what the Longwood community desired in a president.
Of course, there were some controversies involved, despite this process not being extremely similar to a U.S. presidential election. The Longwood University president is required to have a graduate degree, which Interim President Marge Connelly has not earned. This upset a great deal of students, who launched an initiative this year by hanging up signs in academic buildings that read, “Keep Marge in Charge.”
There were also some questions about how the candidates’ names were kept private from many members of the university community. In January, eight to 10 finalists were chosen, but their names were not released due to confidentiality reasons.
Ultimately, however, the search process continued and the BOV appointed Reveley. The Longwood community seems generally excited to get to know the president-elect, especially because of his familial ties with the university. According to a university press release, several women in his family attended Longwood, and his great grandfather was a biology professor at the university.
While Reveley’s résumé reflects a great deal of work and commitment (check out The Rotunda’s presidential coverage this week to find out more), his family history with Longwood is personally intriguing to me. I like the idea of a leader who has known of the institution for a long time.
As a journalist, of course, I know there is more to a presidency than family history. I look forward to seeing how Reveley applies his experiences to his presidency, as well as the initiatives he launches. While I will only remain at Longwood for a year after this semester, I am sure I will see a difference, if not several, before I graduate.
Connelly’s time at the university during this presidential search process should also be recognized. She is an extremely honest, ambitious woman from what I have seen, and I have no doubt she will succeed in her future endeavors.
As a junior at this university, I have never been a student during the term of a long-term president. President Patricia Cormier retired from her 13 year presidency just a few months before I came to Longwood, and as previously mentioned, Finnegan stepped down less than two years into his presidency.
After reporting on this presidential search process for nearly a year now, I hope to see these efforts result in a long-term president that does wonders for his university. Reveley is set to serve as president until at least 2018, and I look forward to seeing the direction he leads the university in.
*** This editorial is an opinion stated by the writer and does not represent the views of The Rotunda or Longwood University.
