The Vice President for Academic Affairs Search Committee has adopted the following operational principles and procedures:

1. The search committee will develop a statement of desired qualifications for the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) that will guide the search and selection process and be provided to candidates and nomination sources. Before it is finalized, a draft version of this statement of qualifications will be shared with appropriate governance committees, the President’s Cabinet, and the community for comment.
   
   
2. The search committee will adopt a timetable for the search that will permit the appointment of a VPAA by December 2006, or as soon thereafter as possible.
   
   
3. The search committee will conduct an active national search to attract a highly qualified and diverse pool of candidates and will monitor the search process until it is completed.
   
   
4. The search committee will establish a web site and make periodic reports to appropriate governance committees and other members of the Skidmore community.
   
   
5. The search committee will observe strict confidentiality in the conduct of the search. Any member of the search committee who breaches confidentiality may be removed from the committee without replacement.
   
   
6. The search committee will meet to review the candidate pool and identify the individuals to be invited to preliminary interviews.
   
   
7. The search committee will invite final candidates to campus for extensive meetings with campus constituencies and consider comments and advice from those constituencies. If possible, the committee also will arrange for a meeting between final candidates and members of the Board of Trustees. The committee then will recommend one or more candidates for appointment to the position.
   
   
8. Following the completion of its work, the search committee will meet to review and document the search process.