Suffolk Board of Trustees Chairman Andrew Meyer said that the committee to replace David Sargent as University president is coming closer to a decision, but could not confirm or deny claims by the Boston Herald as to who might be taking over.
An article last Wednesday in The Herald claimed that the presidential search has been narrowed down to 10 candidates and named three of them. The Herald based its report on unnamed sources.
“The search itself is confidential for the people who are applying,” said Meyer, explaining that candidates expect confidentiality to protect their current jobs.
While Meyer couldn’t comment on whether the names listed in The Herald were accurate, he  said that the Herald’s number of ten candidates in the field was inaccurate. “There’s been an overwhelming interest in the presidency,” and the search committee has been going through those requests. “The exact number must remain confidential.”
“The process is continuing to narrow the field,” he said. “The committee has gone through a great deal of recruitment nominations,” and “is working very hard and has narrowed the field. I’m hoping they will arrive on a candidate or candidates within the coming months.”
The search for the new president began after Sargent retired last October following a firestorm of controversy that began in 2008 when he was listed as the nation’s highest paid college president. He was second on the list a year later.
A large portion of the salaries counted in 2008 and 2009 went towards Sargent’s retirement package and some of the money was double counted between the two years.
Sargent was expected to stay until 2013 after receiving a two-year contract extension, but unexpectedly retired last year.
Meyer said he hopes the Presidential Search Committee will make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees for a candidate or candidates that have “everything we need to take Suffolk into the future.”