NCCU to spend $150,000 to find chancellor

A search firm will be paid $80,000 for its part in replacing James Ammons

DURHAM -- N.C. Central University plans to spend $150,000 on the search for its next leader.

Of that, $80,000 goes to Heidrick & Struggles, a search firm hired to help NCCU find a replacement for Chancellor James Ammons, who leaves later this year to take over as the head of Florida A&M University. The balance will be eaten up in travel and other associated expenses.

"It is a lot of money, but the search has to be done," said Cressie Thigpen, chairman of the search committee and NCCU's Board of Trustees. "It's an expensive proposition."

Universities within the UNC system usually hire headhunters to assist in executive searches, which routinely cost $100,000 or more. A few examples: The search for a new chancellor at UNC-Asheville cost $143,000; at the N.C. School of the Arts, it was $122,000; and at N.C. A&T, it cost $135,000.

Though commonly used within the UNC system, search firms aren't always employed when universities are looking for new leadership. According to a recently released survey of 2,200 college presidents, slightly more than half of the searches for university leaders from 2004 to 2006 employed search firms. That survey, conducted by the American Council on Education, found that 58 percent of public, master's degree-granting institutions -- like NCCU -- hired search firms.

While expensive, search firms can often persuade candidates who otherwise might not be interested to apply, said Claire Van Ummersen, an ACE vice president. Those potential candidates, occasionally sitting presidents or recent retirees, aren't likely to throw their hats in the ring without some prodding, Van Ummersen said.

"Most of them are happy where they are," she said. "There's almost a need to market the job. You have to sell it."

A search firm also can give a university an advantage if it is looking for a new leader when demand is high. The same ACE survey found that almost half of all university leaders are 61 or older, suggesting a surge of retirements is coming.

"We're seeing more retirements than we were 10 years ago," Van Ummersen said. "The demand for talent means a tighter market."

A search firm also helps universities with the mounds of paperwork that a broad search generates, said Ann Lemmon, the UNC system's associate vice president for human resources. The firm arranges travel, checks references and culls applications so search committee members -- faculty, staff, students and administrators -- can spend their time on more important details, Lemmon said.

"Not everyone has the time to read, in-depth, 100 resumes," she said.

At NCCU, a 14-member search committee is just beginning its work, with several public forums scheduled this week to hear from the university community. As at many other universities, the search will be conducted secretly, with the names of candidates kept confidential lest the university scare away any potential candidates.

NCCU's next leader will be asked to continue building on momentum Ammons has spurred in a number of areas. The university is excelling in biotechnology research, for example. Enrollment, currently 8,600, has grown 50 percent since Ammons arrived in 2001.