November 5, 2026
Dr. Nathaniel Easley, Jr., Chair of CSU System Board of Governors,
We are writing to you today as members of CSU’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). We look forward to engaging constructively in the upcoming presidential search to assist our leadership in identifying our next president. In contrast to recent hiring processes for top leadership positions, we urge you to select our next president via a process that reflects AAUP principles and advances CSU’s land grant mission.
The AAUP has developed best practices over many decades of participating in presidential hires at colleges and universities around the country. These guidelines are driven by the principle of shared governance. Following AAUP best practices in hiring our next president would also align CSU with our aspirational land grant university peers.
First, AAUP-CSU recommends forming a joint search advisory committee with direct representation from faculty. This should not be a token process. The incoming president will need the confidence of both CSU’s Board of Governors and faculty to address the serious challenges facing CSU. The search advisory committee should be free of any appearance of a conflict of interest, and it should exclude the current and incoming Chancellors of the CSU system.
Second, it may make sense for the search advisory committee to work with a reputable, independent executive search firm to recruit exceptional candidates to present to the search committee. If CSU elects to use a firm, AAUP recommends that this executive search firm be selected in coordination with Faculty Council. Its role should be to identify candidates and assist with logistics, rather than guiding CSU policy or overseeing a ‘closed’ search.
Third, once the search committee selects finalists for the presidential hire, the AAUP recommends an open phase in which these finalists visit campus and meet with faculty, staff, and students. This open phase should invite “individual faculty members as well as faculty bodies to review the credentials of finalists, ask questions, and share opinions before a final decision is made” (AAUP 2016).
Finally, conducting a fair and open presidential search takes time. The process should not be rushed. AAUP-CSU recommends that faculty, staff, and students spend Spring 2027 conducting a needs assessment to determine what we need in our next president. Our presidential position could then be posted in Fall 2027 in line with the academic job market. Our non-voting faculty and student representatives to CSU’s Board of Governors should be included in deliberations outlining the presidential search process at their meeting December 3-4, 2026.
Along with our colleagues on the Faculty and Administrative Professional Councils, as well as our students in ASCSU, we look forward to a fruitful collaboration with the CSU system as we search for our 17th president. A fair and open presidential search will allow all of us to avoid costly mistakes and advance CSU’s academic mission.
Sincerely,
Executive Committee of CSU’s Chapter of the AAUP
