Earlier in the recruitment process I suggested that "not affected by kryptonite" might be worth adding to the person specification given the expectations of our next Vice-Chancellor. In actuality, our candidates probably feel that the process has been more like the Krypton Factor, and after having completed the assault course, four entered the last round on 31 July. As well as meeting informally with some members of Council, the Deputy and Pro-Vice Chancellors, their final challenge was a panel interview for over an hour.
We had seen so much of the candidates on the 26 July, that this really gave the panel the opportunity to probe more deeply into areas where we had identified concerns. Sometimes the candidates reinforced those concerns; sometimes they surprised and challenged us. The interview panel, with representatives from right across the University, then met to discuss each candidate in detail against the person specification and, quite wonderfully, came to a common view about all candidates. This was followed by a meeting of the Committee on the Office of Vice-Chancellor which again very quickly reached agreement. It is a tribute to all involved in the selection process, and the effort they put into it, that by the end of 31 July, we had identified a preferred candidate to be our next Vice-Chancellor.
Of course this is a two-way process. All of the candidates have learned a lot about us over the last few weeks and we now need to see if we can reach agreement. This will take a while given the complexity of the role and that this is such a significant step for both the individual and the University. If all goes well, we hope to be making a recommendation to Senate and Council on 3 Sept. Then we can tell the world who our next Vice-Chancellor is.
So that's two major competitions complete in the last week. And one of them was won by Dani Dyer!
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