USF reviewing more than 30 resumes for president job

The University of South Florida has received resumes from more than 30 people who could serve as its next president, trustee Les Muma announced Monday.

His update to fellow university officials at an afternoon workshop is the first since November, when the team charged with finding USF's next leader met to finalize a job description for longtime president Judy Genshaft's replacement. She retires July 1.

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Muma, who leads the presidential search committee, said he and trustees Chairman Brian Lamb have been in close contact with USF-hired search firm Greenwood/Asher and Associates.

The university's agreement with the consultant group is set up carefully so that presidential candidates submit applications directly to firm president Jan Greewood rather than USF personnel to avoid those materials falling into the public record.

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She has been in an "outreach stage" since the end of November, he said, meaning she is contacting academic leaders from around the country to see if they have interest in applying for the top spot at USF. And her work has yielded a "very rich field" of applicants, Muma said.

"All of you would be blown away at the quality of the resumes we are looking at," he said, adding that some come from international applicants.

The trustee quoted Greenwood, saying "this job is viewed as an exciting opportunity" by a "broad spectrum" of academics who recognize USF's recent advancements, such as its newly gained "preeminent" designation from the state, and its pending consolidation.

Greenwood will continue reaching out to presidential prospects for the next 30 to 40 days, Muma said, as he and Lamb continue to review applicants she finds.

Together, they will then determine an unspecified number of top candidates, who will have to then go public as the presidential search committee reviews their applications and begins on-campus interviews.

"We're losing a great president," Muma said. "And we're going to have another great president to take us forward."

Contact Megan Reeves at mreeves@tampabay.com. Follow @mareevs.