[media-credit name=”Photo Illustration by Christina Popik” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]With the 2017-2018 academic year in full swing, the Presidential Search Committee continues its pursuit for Quinnipiac’s next president.

On Monday, Aug. 28, Chairman of the Search committee, William Weldon, sent out an update to the Quinnipiac community with the news of the appointed members of the Advisory Committee.

The Advisory Committee, made up of 13 Quinnipiac members, began its work last week. The committee met with consultants from Spencer Stuart, an executive search and leadership consulting firm, who gave their perspective on the presidential search profile, according to the update.

Sophomore public relations major Kaley Nesci believes that the next president should be one that is personable and fits into Quinnipiac’s dynamic.

“It should be somebody who is a people person and isn’t afraid to walk around and introduce themselves, and let the students introduce themselves to him or her,” Nesci said.

The maintenance and advancement of academic programs is one of the main challenges and opportunities for Quinnipiac in both the short and long term, according to 40 percent of members of the community who took part in the survey for the new president.

When it comes to changes on campus, junior finance major Candice DiCenzo would like to see President Lahey’s successor keep up with the current projects taking places on campus.

“There have been a lot of changes that have happened here, at least since I’ve been a freshman,” DiCenzo said. “I think if (the new president) is going to continue making changes for the students like there have been that’ll be good.”

It is expected for the university to continue to build, develop, support and retain a strong faculty, and increase the funding available for financial aid, according to responses from survey participants.

“My main thing would be to make tuition cheaper,” DiCenzo said. “Or to just allocate funds a little bit differently so that it goes more to the students. I know there has always been a problem with the fees and maybe if the president gets paid less that might help because the salary is a little bit too much.”

Those who participated in the survey expressed that the next president of Quinnipiac should be innovative, forward thinking, visible and approachable, have educational leadership experience, vision, as well as the ability to communicate with multiple groups while having a strong business sense.

Senior international business major Sal Nesci believes that the next president should reflect Quinnipiac’s values like President Lahey by making him or herself visible and accessible to the community.

“I think they should be somebody who is not afraid to interact with the students,” Nesci said. “Not just holding town hall meetings, but someone who is really comfortable walking around campus, sitting down and having a meal in the cafe with one of their colleagues and just let students come up and say ‘hi’ kind of like Lahey does.”

It is not uncommon for President Lahey to take selfies with students on the quad, at hockey games or during any campus event. The next president should be someone who is easily approachable and not one who puts themselves on a “throne” and has to hide from the students, according to Nesci.

“I think that will help to promote our value of community here because Quinnipiac has such a strong community,” Nesci said. “Having somebody like we do now, somebody who can help foster that sense of community would be good.”

President John Lahey has held the position for the past 30 years, and will retire after serving as Quinnipiac’s president for 31 years and three months. President Lahey cemented his legacy as Quinnipiac’s president by overseeing the growth of the university from one campus to three spanning across two towns, Hamden and North Haven.

During his three decades at Quinnipiac, President Lahey has left his mark on Quinnipiac, presenting his successor with the opportunity to bring new ideas to the campus.

With all of the upcoming changes, Weldon will continue to keep the university community involved and updated via the presidential search website.