Virginia Tech is seeking feedback on what to look for in its next president.
A national search is underway for the university’s 17th president after Tim Sands announced in April that he would step down.
The board of visitors hired the firm Isaacson Miller to help lead the search and launched a 23-member search committee last month.
Now, the committee has launched a survey so community members and the public can share their opinions regarding the characteristics and priorities that will best serve the university in the next president, according to a June 18 news release.
The survey can be accessed here on the presidential search website. It also enables community members to submit names of potential candidates or for individuals to express interest in the position.
The board of visitors is seeking a “visionary leader with proven executive leadership experience” and the “ judgment and credibility to guide a complex public institution,” according to the search website.
The ideal candidate would be committed to student success and understand the obligations of a public land-grant institution, according to the website.
The search isn’t limited to leaders of academia, though. The website notes a candidate should have “a distinguished record of achievement in academia, industry, government, or a related field,” and members of the board of visitors noted at this month’s meeting that the search might include private sector leaders.
The key priorities the board has identified for the next president include advancing research; expanding access, affordability and student success; supporting a “strong and nationally competitive athletics program”; fostering a cohesive community; and fundraising.
The search will likely take at least six to eight months, Greg Esposito of Isaacson Miller previously advised members of the search committee.
Sands has agreed to stay in his role until his successor is found.
The search committee has already held more than two dozen listening sessions with faculty, students, university leaders and alumni and has plans for more this fall.
For more information, visit: search.president.vt.edu.
