In light of President Nick Bruno’s retirement plan, Mark Romero, University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors Chair, announced the chosen members of the Presidential Search Committee on Feb. 3.

After a decade of service to ULM, Bruno revealed his plan to retire by June 30. The UL System Board of Supervisors is responsible for finding his replacement with the help of a search committee.

The committee consists of 22 members. Of the 22 members, 11 are voting members while 10 are people from the Monroe community meant to act as non-voting advisors. The remaining member is UL System President Jim Henderson who will serve as chair of the committee and be a non-voter.UL System employees, ULM alumni and a current ULM student fill all the spots on the search committee.

“Beyond our committed System Board members, their committee is filled with stakeholders who, as alumni or community members, have a vested interest in the success of the university,” Romero said in an interview with KNOE. “It is our highest priority to conduct a transparent search with ample opportunity for community input.”

The search committee’s first meeting is on March 11 at ULM.

There, the committee will hear from the university’s constituencies and vote to accept their charge. Then, the committee will create a timeline for the presidential search.

Once the search begins, the committee will sift through president applications and interviewing people qualified for the position.

One of the search committee members is Student Government Association President, Olivia Bailey.

Bailey is a non-voting member meaning she will get to express her opinions and be a part of the meetings but will have no vote toward the presidency.

Bailey said she had a good work relationship with Bruno and hopes the next president resembles him in certain ways.

“I want someone [to be president] that isn’t afraid of the big ideas and wants to engage with students and listen to students the same way Dr. Bruno did,” Bailey said.