The University of the Fraser Valley’s search for a new president is restarting, after the person chosen to succeed Dr. Mark Evered withdrew their candidacy.
With Evered set to retire in June, UFV had launched a search for its next president and vice-chancellor last year. It paid Boydon Global Executive Search around $54,000 over 18 months to select the right applicant.
In the fall, a 13-member selection committee conducted interviews and decided on the person to succeed Evered.
“During the final stages, due to unforeseen personal circumstances, the candidate has chosen to withdraw,” UFV Board chair John Pankratz said in a release. “On behalf of the Board, I sincerely thank the presidential search committee, as well as the many UFV students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members who invested their time to contribute to this process. Everyone involved did an admirable job on all aspects of the search.”
The university will re-initiate the search for the president immediately, continuing with Boydon Global Executive Search. No new fees will be incurred.
“The entire UFV community can be incredibly proud of the process we undertook,” said UFV board vice-chair Randy Bartsch, who chaired the presidential search committee. “It was done in accordance with best practices, balancing the need for candidate confidentiality with the need for stakeholder engagement. With help from Boyden we were able to find an excellent candidate, and we trust that we’ll be able to do so again.”
With the search set to resume, an interim president will be announced in the coming weeks to succeed Evered on July 1.
