The Stuart School needed new leadership and
exclusively retained KULPER & COMPANY to the lead the search. We were told
that our firm was selected as a direct result of being referred by another
current client. Our client spoke positively about
our reputation for producing sought after results in a highly professional
and timely manner. Completion of a search of this magnitude in a
highly competitive market for top leadership requires attention to many
subtle details. Our initial discussions began with an in depth review of
Provost Myerson’s hiring need and vision for the Stuart School. It continued
with a review of how the search process would unfold including a detailed
review of our ISO 9001:2000 registered search processes. Once that was done
we agreed that we could undertake this search assignment and Provost Myerson
signed off on our written consulting agreement.
After working closely with Provost Myerson, and
other members of the Search Committee, a Position Specification was
approved. The
Position Specification became not only, a description of the job, but
also, a marketing document that encapsulated current mission and renewed
vision of the Stuart School. The Position Specification underscored the many
career growth opportunities of the opportunity as well as the attractiveness
of living and working in a major city like Chicago. We then started
contacting key higher education and corporate leaders in our own network and
asked for candidate nomination suggestions. We also proceeded to reach out
directly to many current Business School Deans and Department heads. We
supplemented this effort with advertisements in major industry publications
such as the
Chronicle of Higher Education. Shortly thereafter, we began a series of
discussions with potential candidates some of whom were qualified and put
forward to the search committee for further consideration.
The search committee wanted, and needed, to meet
with multiple candidates in order to feel comfortable with their ultimate
selection. The feedback from both the search committee and Provost Myerson
was essential for calibrating our search effort. The net result of this
effort was the production of a slate of candidates which after several
iterations ultimately, led us to Dr. Kahalas.
By the time we spoke with, qualified and
presented Dr. Kahalas it was apparent to us here at KULPER & COMPANY and to
the members of search committee as well as Provost Myerson, that Dr. Kahalas
would be a great choice to become the next Dean of the Stuart Graduate of
School of Business at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Members of the
search committee, the provost and the president and university trustees all
agreed with this assessment and reached quick consensus on his candidacy.
Shortly thereafter, a verbal and then written job offer was made to Dr.
Kahalas and accepted.
The search process from start to finish took
about one year to complete. Typically, a higher education search of this
level of importance can take this long because of the multiple factors
involved in reaching solid consensus among the constituencies represented.
The proof of the effectiveness of this search will be in the longer term
success of the hired candidate, but, based upon Dr Kahalas’ fine
track record and deep experience as a successful senior academic
administrator and scholar we have the highest hopes for his long term
success.
Again, we offer heartfelt congratulations to Dr.
Kahalas as well as to the members of the search committee and administration
of the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Keith D. Kulper
President
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