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| Dr. Tim Hudson |
Hudson withdraws name from consideration
By KRISTIN TAYLOR
Staff Writer
The presidential search will continue into the fall semester, but it will go on without one of the three finalists and the complexion of the Board of Regents will change a little before any more candidates are expected to visit Murray State.
Dr. Tim Hudson withdrew his name from the search Saturday and announced his decision to stay at University of Houston-Victoria as president. His decision came about 10 hours after the regents unanimously voted to continue the search, possibly expanding the pool of candidates.
But Hudson said he was leaning toward withdrawing as a presidential candidate before he learned of the regents decision, which came at 2 a.m. Saturday after a seven-hour closed session meeting that followed them hosting the third and final candidate for dinner Friday evening. Hudson said he learned in a Saturday morning telephone conversation with a Korn/Ferry Inc. search firm representative about MSU's continuing search - a factor that only confirmed what he and his wife, Deidra, were already thinking.
“In weighing our options, we spoke with a number of family friends and UHV folks on Friday as we traveled back to Texas - including our chancellor who made it clear that he and the University of Houston System Board were very keen to keep us at UHV,” Hudson wrote in an e-mail to the Ledger & Times on Sunday. “... They relayed to me the MSU board's decision to continue the search, which simply confirmed for us that we were where we needed to be in the present.”
During his on-campus interview Thursday, Hudson said he wasn't looking for a job when Korn/Ferry representatives contacted him as they were compiling a candidate pool that ended up totaling 73. The search firm, which the regents hired, narrowed that pool to 25 people and then the 11-member board interviewed nine of those at off-campus locations. Hudson as well as MSU Associate Provost Dr. Tim Todd and Illinois Superintendent of Education Dr. Randy Dunn emerged as the finalists who spoke to administrators, faculty, staff, students and community members during their visits last week.
“A sitting president can't just stay out there on the end of the limb like that,” Board chairman Don Sparks said. “The other two - unless another position comes up and they are offered and they feel like they need to go ahead - I don't know what they'll do.”
Murray State made public the names of the finalists the day before each of their visits. That news, Hudson said, brought with it communication from friends and colleagues urging him to remain in Victoria.
“You must remember that I was not looking for another job. Contrariwise, the search firm MSU employed did exactly what it was hired to do - it brought you a potential president who would not have otherwise applied,” Hudson wrote in the e-mail. “Here in Texas we have a high quality of life, good friends and an ideal school situation for our children. Plus, we have worked with others to put in place a number of promising initiatives at UHV, initiatives that hold the promise of making a positive difference in the lives of our students.
For complete story, see today's Ledger & Times
Story created May 08, 2006 - 12:43:48 EDT.
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