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As the campus adjusts to President Ribeau’s upcoming departure from BGSU for Howard University this summer, processes are
under way to name an interim president and begin the search for Ribeau’s successor.
While these processes are being set in motion, President Ribeau assures the campus that he remains strongly committed to BGSU
and will assist the board of trustees in any way it deems appropriate in the changeover. To assure a smooth transition, he
will continue at BGSU through the end of July. A date for a sendoff celebration will be determined.
“I ask the entire campus community to maintain a sense of discipline and purpose and to work together to identify and support
our leadership team,” he said, adding that open dialogue and continued reliance on the University’s shared governance structure
and due process will be important to a successful segue.
“I urge the campus to stay focused,” President Ribeau stated. “We must continue to do what we do and what we’re known for
and do it well. It is important to maintain the momentum of the past 13 years.
“I thank the BGSU community for their support and helping realize our dreams and aspirations. There’s still much work to do,”
he said.
Ribeau requests that all those participating in campus initiatives continue to maintain existing timelines. In particular,
he expects that the Strategic Planning Group, which is designing a 10-year strategic plan for BGSU, will make “significant
progress” through June and July, and will refine its work over the summer in preparation for the introduction of the plan
to the entire campus for full consultation by the end of the fall. The strategic planning will secure the future programmatic
direction and priorities of the University in this time of change, he said.
The search for a new General Counsel is moving ahead and will continue, the president said, and it is hoped that the position
will be filled as soon as possible.
Next steps
Michael Marsh, president of the board of trustees, announced that a committee has been formed and will move quickly to name
an interim president. Trustees Stephanie Imhoff, John Moore, Debra Ryan and Robert Sebo are screening names of potential candidates
and will present the results of their work at a special meeting of the entire board on June 6.
The board is discussing the process it will utilize for hiring a new president and examining what procedures are currently
in use by universities in similar situations, Marsh said. It is also preparing a proposal request for a search firm to aid
BGSU. If all the elements fall into place, he said, the search firm could be named in the near future.
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