Kansas Board of Regents Press Release
(Topeka, Kansas) – Today the Board of Regents appointed 20 individuals to assist and advise the Board in the selection of the next President of Fort Hays State University. The search committee includes representation from university students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the wider Hays community. The Board named Jeffrey D. Peier of Wichita, who currently serves as Chair of the Fort Hays State University Foundation Board of Trustees and is a Managing Member of the law firm Klenda Austerman LLC, to chair the committee.
“The Board of Regents has assembled an incredibly talented Search Committee representing Fort Hays State University’s administration, faculty, staff, students, alumni and community partners,” stated Jeffrey Peier, chair of the Presidential Search Committee. “I am extremely confident that this diverse Search Committee will be successful in presenting the Board of Regents with a slate of highly qualified candidates from which the Board will select the next leader of Fort Hays State University.”
The Board also approved the hiring of the search firm Wheless Partners to assist with identifying and recruiting potential candidates for the position of President. Over the next several weeks, Wheless Partners will visit with members of the Fort Hays State University community to better understand what attributes and characteristics will be desired in the next President.
In addition to approving the committee’s membership, the Board also approved a formal charge which instructs the search committee to identify “three to five candidates who are the most qualified for Board selection as President of Fort Hays State University.”
Click here to review the full charge.
Search committee members representing the campus include: Dr. Paul Adams, Dean of the College of Education; Ms. Melanie Arellano-Luna, a student studying Social Work; Dr. Jill Arensdorf, Chair of the Department of Leadership Studies; Ms. Emily Brandt, Student Government Association President, studying Political Science; Dr. Greg Farley, Dean of the College of Science, Technology and Mathematics; Ms. Shannon Lindsey, Director of Human Resources; Ms. Denise Orth, Incoming Faculty Senate President and Associate Professor of Allied Health; Mr. Feysel Rahmeto, a student studying Business Education; Dr. Craig Smith, Associate Professor of Agriculture, and Dr. Dosse Toulaboe, Chair of the Department of Economics, Finance and Accounting.
Search committee members representing the Alumni Association, Foundation Board, and wider Community include: Mr. Daron Jamison, Alumni Association Member and CFO of HitchPin LLC; Mr. Curtis Longpine, FHSU Foundation Board of Trustee Member and Owner of DaMar Resources, Inc.; Mr. W.R. Robbins, FHSU Foundation Board of Trustee Member and President & CEO of Farmers Bank & Trust; Dr. Ed Stehno, FHSU Professor Emeritus of Educational Administration and Counseling; Mr. Tyler Thompson, Alumni Association Member and Senior Specialist of IT Client Services at Merck Animal Health; Ms. Tammy Wellbrock, Executive Director of the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce; and Mr. Jason Williby, President & CEO of the FHSU Foundation.
The Board of Regents is represented by Regent Joe Bain, partner of Cure & Bain, P.C.; and Blake Flanders, President & CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents.