The preferred qualifications for the next University of Iowa president include a doctoral degree, significant experience in fiscal management, a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and experience with an academic medical center. 

The 21-member search committee developed a three-page job description for the role based on feedback from students, staff, and faculty at a series of 10 presidential listening sessions held in December. 

Search committee members refined the language of the job description for over two hours at a Friday meeting. 

Sandy Daack-Hirsh, co-president of the search committee, said after the finalized description is approved by the committee, the job will be posted by mid-January. 

Applications or nominations for the position should be submitted by March 15.

Daack-Hirsh said the committee will pick about 10 to 12 semifinalists, and invite three to four finalists to campus. 

As previously reported by The Daily Iowan, the committee plans to select the next university president by April 30. 

Preferred qualifications for the job include: 

• Proven skill in senior-level fiscal management, resource generation, and budget allocation 
• Preferred experience with an academic medical center
• Earned doctorate or terminal degree from an accredited institution of higher education 
• Success in implementing and practicing best practices for diversity, inclusion, and equity in all policies and procedures. 
• Significant senior-management know-how and ability to attract,empower,and retain outstanding faculty members and staff. 
• Desire to be the collaborative voice and face of the university with all stakeholders, including local, state, and federal elected officials, the board of regents, community colleges, the K-12 system, Iowa’s public universities, and the state’s residents. 
• Record of success as an educator, scholar, and servant leader in the academic enterprise. 

During the campus listening sessions, many students, faculty, and staff expressed that the next president should have an academic background and a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. 

“I think in the listening sessions what I’ve heard is to enact the DEI change students are looking for, they would like someone who is visible and expresses direct concern about their individual experiences,” Undergraduate Student Government President Connor Wooff said during Friday’s committee meeting. “I think that’s really important for people to set the tone for the next president – that’s something people are looking for, individual attention to their unique experiences on campus.”