The Presidential Search Advisory Committee has one meeting behind it and plans to meet for the second time in the first half of October to discuss strategies for reviewing applications. Dr. Bill Franklin, senior consultant for Academic Search Inc., is compiling the committee’s research and will publish a prospectus “in the next few days,” said Don Crisp, chair of the search committee.

The prospectus will describe distinctive aspects of the university and enumerate the characteristics essential for a president to manage them successfully. Potential candidates will receive a copy of the report; it will also be made available to interested members of the ACU community. Upon completion of the prospectus, the committee will open a 60-day window to submit applications.

Academic Search Inc. assists institutions of higher education in administrative searches.

“We talked to people in higher education who had used Academic Search in the recent past,” Crisp said. “It’s nice for the candidates as well as us to have a liaison between them and the committee.”

C.E. Cornutt, chair of the Board of Trustees, said in a statement the university “extensively interviewed several firms with outstanding credentials and experience in higher education,” before Academic Search Inc. was selected. Board members will underwrite the cost of the search.