University of Minn. fires firm to find Kaler's replacement

David McMillan, chair of the Board of Regents, left, and U pres. Eric Kaler
David McMillan, chair of the Board of Regents, left, and University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler take in a lighter moment after Kaler announced that he is leaving effective July 2019.
Elizabeth Flores | Star Tribune via AP

Two months into its presidential search, the University of Minnesota dismissed the national firm it hired to lead the process, after Storbeck/Pimentel and Associates was selected to do the same job for Michigan State University.

On its presidential search website, the U of M said the hiring by another Big Ten school "created significant concern as to potential confusion for candidates."

The university quickly hired AGB Search which will have the former president of the University of Iowa, the former president of Ohio University and a former dean from Texas Tech University lead the U president search.

"We did not make this decision lightly," said Board of Regents chair David McMillan in a statement posted on the university's presidential search website. "We needed a firm dedicated to finding the next great leader of the University of Minnesota."

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McMillan added the "search timeline will not be impacted by this change."

Current University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler announced earlier this year that he'll retire in July 2019.

AGB is being hired for a fixed fee of $150,000 plus expenses. Storbeck/Pimentel, which was hired for $200,000, will return the university's initial payment of $74,666.

Representatives with AGB will be in town this week to meet with the U's Presidential Search Advisory Committee, and all files of candidates who have expressed interest in the position will be transferred from Storbeck/Pimentel to AGB.