AGB Search handed almost 80 applications for the position of the next University of Iowa president to the UI Presidential Search Committee on Friday for review. The committee selected 12 semi-finalists who will be virtually interviewed April 1 and 2 in the next step of the search for the next leader of the University of Iowa.

During the search, 137 individuals were either nominated or expressed interest in the position, but 79 applications were reviewed by the committee at Friday’s meeting, AGB Search consultant Janice Fitzgerald said.

To preserve the confidentiality of the candidates, the names of the semi-finalists will be announced as numbers until up to four finalists are announced, Board of Regents board counsel member Aimee Claeys told the committee.

Managing Principal of AGB Search Roderick McDavis said they are pleased with the amount of applicants who applied for the position in the search process so far.

“In addition to the quantitative results…we feel good about the qualitative aspect of the pool of candidates,” Managing Principal of AGB Search Roderick McDavis said.

At Friday’s meeting, the committee entered a closed session to discuss the eligibility of each candidate.

Each semi-finalist will undergo a 70 minute interview next week with the committee on Zoom and will be asked questions from the committee members and co-chairs, Director of UI Administrative Services and Human Resources Karen Shemanski told the committee.

UI Presidential Search Committee co-chair Sandra Daack-Hirsch told the committee that a discussion of each candidate’s interview will take place on Saturday, April 3.

“We have Saturday set aside thinking that these will be two long days that we would want to have a fresh eyes rest and then come back on Saturday and evaluate our semi finalists pool and decide who will move to bring onto campus for the finalists,” Daack-Hirsch told the committee.

As previously reported by The Daily Iowan, the finalists of the search will travel to campus to participate in a hybrid interview process on April 12 to 23.

The committee plans to select the next UI president by April 30. On Thursday, current UI President Bruce Harreld announced he would leave the UI May 16, and current Graduate College Dean and Co-Chair of the search committee John Keller would take up the mantle as interim president until Harreld’s successor begins. Keller told the DI on Thursday he expects that to be in late summer or early fall.