A presidential search committee will be formed to search for a replacement for the Sangamon State University president.

At the Oct. 18 Board of Regents meeting, plans were discussed to form a presidential search committee to find someone to replace SSU President Durward Long, who announced his resignation last month.

BOR Chairman D. Brewster Parker announced the committee will be chaired by Regent David Murphy. Other BOR members on the committee will be Milton McClure and Sylvia Nichols, Parker said.

SSU Student Regent James Smylie also will be on the committee, he said.

The committee will be asked to recommend no less than three or no more than five finalists for the presidency, Parker said.

Chancellor Roderick Groves “will coordinate the search,” said Cheryl Peck, assistant to the Chancellor.

Parker said “members of major campus constituencies will be selected in accordance with the process outlined in the SSU constitution.”

This will include “one faculty member, one student member, one staff member, one alumnus member and one additional representative from the Springfield community,” Peck said.

The faculty member will be chosen by the Faculty Senate, the student member will be chosen by the Student Senate, the staff member will be selected by the Staff Senate and the alumnus member will be selected by the Alumni Association, she said.

The representative from the Springfield community will be chosen by Parker, Peck said.

The SSU faculty is upset only one faculty member is on the committee, said Doug Anderson, chairman of the SSU Faculty Senate.

“There will be two students (one student and one alumnus) on the committee,” he said.

Parker requested that the members of the committee be chosen by Nov. 1. The board will make the final decision in the spring.

Murphy did not want to see the committee prioritize candidates, Smylie said.

Smylie said he wanted to see the students have a part in the selection of the next president. “Students have the focal point on what the president’s identity will be,” he said.

“This person is the key to whether the university will be stagnant or grow more in the future,” Smylie said.