VP named finalist in search

A presidential search committee at a small all-female college in North Carolina will announce today whether to offer Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen Hartford the school's highest position.

Meredith College, which has a student body of fewer than 3,000 students, has narrowed its search to Hartford and two other female candidates. One of them may replace the college's current president, John Weems, who has been in office for 27 years, according to The Raleigh News and Observer.

Weems is on sabbatical until the end of his term.

Along with Hartford, Nancy Huggins, an investment banker from Dallas, Texas, and Hope Williams, president of the North Carolina Association of Independent Colleges, are finalists in Meredith's search.

Hartford could not be reached for comment yesterday.

"I respect the difficulty of her job and she's done a good job with it," said LSA sophomore Brian Reich, who has worked closely with Hartford to review the Code of Student Conduct during the past six months.

Reich said Hartford possesses skills that would make her a great president. She is "very open and personable," he said.

Going into the Code review process, Reich said, the students involved did not know what to expect. But he said Hartford was extremely approachable and open to hearing their suggestions. Reich added that Hartford's leaving would be a loss to the Code review process.

"The University of Michigan has benefited from (Hartford) over the past few years," Reich said.

Hartford is the only executive officer remaining from former University President James Duderstadt's administration. She stepped into her current position at the University in 1992, before which time she was the vice provost for Student Affairs at Washington State University.

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