The deadline “for fullest consideration” for the position of next president of Seton Hall University was Nov. 22, the first day of Thanksgiving Break, according to the school’s presidential search webpage. However, the search committee has not yet released an update on the status of the search process. Dan Kalmanson, associate vice president for public relations and marketing, relayed a message from a representative of the presidential search committee: “Meetings of the search committee have been scheduled for December and January,” the representative said. “The search committee has not communicated a timeline for the search.” The committee did not comment on the size of the applicant pool, but The Setonian previously reported that there has been an “influx of applicants,” some of which the search committee had been in touch with, while they worked to schedule meetings with others. The applicant pool is somewhat limited by the requirement in the school’s by-laws that the University President must be a Roman Catholic priest. The University made an exception for former University President Dr. A. Gabriel Esteban, who was not ordained. However, Patrick Murray, chair of SHU’s Board of Regents, announced on April 27 that the search committee would follow that rule during the current ongoing search. While some students think the rule makes sense, others feel that it limits the applicant pool unnecessarily. At the same time, some students think that the Roman Catholic priest credential should be a bonus, not a bare minimum. “I think the school should do what’s best in the interest of the students and find candidates without looking for that criteria first, and then if that comes in after the fact, then I would support it,” said Christopher Fedorczyk, a junior accounting major. Meanwhile, Tiffany Zapata, a sophomore nursing major, said that a Catholic priest as the president of a Catholic University “sounds fitting.” In addition to the stipulation that the next president will be a Roman Catholic priest, the leadership profile published on the search website states that he will also have “an earned terminal degree in his discipline and a proven record of accomplishment as a leader and administrator.” Brianna Bernath can be reached at brianna.bernath@student.shu.edu.
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