DRC Pohl open to staying at NT but online educatio

[OldTimer]

Pohl open to staying at UNT

President shows an interest in online ed; applicant field strong

07:40 AM CST on Saturday, January 14, 2006

By Matthew Zabel / Staff Writer

The committee searching for the next University of North Texas president has received many highly qualified candidates, and the outgoing president says he’s not ruling out seeking another job at UNT.

UNT President Norval Pohl, 62, who announced in July he would let his contract expire Aug. 31, 2006, said this week that he continues to seek administrative positions nationwide.

Pohl, who has been president at UNT since 2000, said he’s applied primarily for administrative and presidential jobs at other universities, which plan to make their decisions in March or April.

But Pohl said if those positions don’t work out, he’d like to possibly stay at UNT and work with the university’s online education.

“I really like Denton,” Pohl said. “It is a neat little community. I think we have one of the best distributed-learning programs around — UNT is the largest provider in the state — and I’ve never really worked in distributed learning.”

Pohl said he has discussed that possibility with Dr. Phil Turner, UNT’s vice provost for learning enhancement, who told him he could pick up the field rather quickly.

Pohl said he finds that field fascinating, and he would like to learn its intricacies.

“So I’m not ruling that out, but I’ll continue to look outside and see if there’s another administrative opportunity,” he said.

Gayle Strange, vice chairman of the UNT board of regents and co-chairman of the committee searching for Pohl’s replacement, said several highly qualified candidates have already applied.

“I find it very rewarding that UNT’s reputation invites the interest of so many very highly qualified and respected people,” Strange said.

Strange said she expected some internal applicants for the position but would not say whether the committee had already received any.

“We’re being very careful with confidentiality through this whole process,” Strange said. “We’re dealing with people who are in jobs already so they don’t want to have their identity revealed until they are named a finalist. We’re taking that very seriously.”

Strange said the committee would not tie itself to a deadline to pick a new president.

“Finding the best person is far more important than meeting a certain date,” Strange said.

MATTHEW ZABEL can be reached at 940-566-6884. His e-mail address is mzabel@dentonrc.com

SEARCH SITE

The University of North Texas has dedicated a new Web page to the presidential search: www.unt.edu/presidentsearch.

[UNTFan23]

Why are there no alumni on the search committee?

Also, there's no mention of the alumni under the "Information about NT" section. They have no problem taking donations and whatnot, but they don't want to admit we exist.

[chomp]

There are 4 alumni on the search committee plus 2 current students.

[UNTLifer]

There are 4 alumni on the search committee plus 2 current students.

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Way to bring a perfectly good rant to a screaching halt with facts!

[KingDL1]

Way to bring a perfectly good rant to a screaching halt with facts!

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Yeah, whats the deal I was about to on a full blown UNT Witch hunt.

[Huff]

In addition to the search committ, the President of the Board of Regents is a North Texas graduate as are some other members of the Board. North Texas exes will be heavily involved in deciding the name of our next President.