Isaacson, Miller Leading President Search for UNC
June 1, 2015 – Isaacson, Miller has been selected by the University of North Carolina to lead the search for its next president. Current president Tom Ross, who led the university for the past four years, has been asked by the system’s Board of Governors to step down next January.
The firm will help the board’s presidential search committee identify potential successors by refining position specifications and advertising strategies, identifying and recruiting candidates and coordinating the interview and selection process.
Isaacson, Miller was selected from among 18 search firm applicants. The firm will be paid $150,000 in fees plus expenses, university officials said, who noted that none of the search costs will come from state funds.
UNC is the oldest public university in the nation, with more than 220,000 students who are enrolled on 16 university campuses across North Carolina and at the NC School of Science and Mathematics.
Over its 33-year history, according to news archives held by Hunt Scanlon Media, Isaacson, Miller has engaged in more than 5,500 executive searches for a host of top flight academic concerns, as well as general education, healthcare, and philanthropic organizations, including finding presidents, deans and provosts for Dartmouth College, Penn State University, Tufts University, Lehigh University, Vanderbilt, New York University, Marquette University, Virginia State University, Antioch College, and American University.
But what likely helped push the firm ahead of it’s rivals on this particular search competition was its recent searches to find a provost for North Carolina-based Duke University and a chancellor for Duke University Medical Center.
Isaacson, Miller has consistently ranked in Hunt Scanlon’s Top 50 search firm rankings, this year climbing to the 13th largest, reporting just under $25 million in annual fees — a 20 percent jump. The firm has roughly 75 consultants working from three American offices.
“Isaacson, Miller is unrivaled in finding transformative leaders for institutions that advance the public good,” said Hunt Scanlon founding chairman and CEO Scott A. Scanlon.
Founded in 1982, Isaacson, Miller focuses on executive search assignments for a wide variety of organizations, including leading universities, research institutes, academic medical centers, foundations, cultural institutions, economic development organizations, human service agencies, and national advocacy groups.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief, Hunt Scanlon Media