Following President Michael K. Young’s announcement of retirement set for May 2021, a national search is now underway for the next president of Texas A&M.
A&M System Chancellor John Sharp announced in a Thursday news release that a new search advisory committee has been created to find Young’s successor. The committee will consist of 17 members from across the university system, including two members of the Board of Regents, Chairman Elaine Mendoza and Vice Chairman Tim Leach.
“The search advisory committee is charged with delivering a minimum of three candidates to Chancellor Sharp who will refer one of them to the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents,” the press release said.
Though Young’s retirement is not effective until May 31, 2021, Sharp said the decision to begin looking for the next president is of “paramount importance” as the university works through challenges in response to the current global situation.
“We want a president with superb academic credentials who recognizes and will maintain the special culture and traditions that make Aggies unique in the world,” Sharp said.
In addition to Mendoza and Leach, the other voting members of the committee are as follows:
Susan Ballabina, deputy vice chancellor and chief operating officer for the vice chancellor of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Kristina Ballard, Staff Council president
Kathleen Gibson, chair of trustees for the Texas A&M Foundation
Greg Hartman, vice chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and senior vice president and chief operating officer for the Health Science Center
Yava Jones-Hall, veterinary pathobiology associate professor and director of the Core Histology Laboratory
John Junkins, regents professor, Royce E. Wisenbaker Chair of aerospace engineering and director of the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study
Jack Lafield, board of trustees member for the 12th Man Foundation
Arvind Mahajan, associate dean of Mays Business School
Cathy Mann, chair of the Board of Directors for the Association of Former Students
Eric Mendoza, student body president
Roderic Pettigrew, chief executive officer of engineering health and executive dean for engineering medicine
Joe Ramirez, brigadier gen., (Ret.) Commandant, Corps of Cadets
John Stallone, vascular physiology and pharmacology professor and Faculty Senate speaker
Jorge Vanegas, dean of the College of Architecture
Karen Wooley, chemistry and chemical engineering, material science and engineering professor, W.T. Doherty-Welch Foundation chair, and director of the Laboratory for Synthetic-Biologic Interactions
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs James Hallmark will preside as committee staff person and be an ex-officio member, according to the press release.