Along with the recent naming of Isaacson, Miller as executive search firm to help Northern Kentucky University in their quest for a new president, NKU also confirmed that the firm comes with a $105,000 price tag.

The university will pay Isaacson, Miller in three or four installments, said Martin Butler, chair of the Presidential Search and Screening Committee. The firm will not receive the final payment until the new president is selected and named.

Isaacson, Miller will recruit and screen candidates. Once they screen candidates, all of them will go to the Presidential Search and Screening Committee for review.

The price was negotiated to be about one-third of the new president’s anticipated first-year salary of $315,000, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
In comparison to what other universities pay an executive search firm, Butler said their negotiated price was “comparable” and within $5-10 thousand each way.
Isaacson, Miller did not respond to several attempts at contact.

The money used to pay the installments to the firm were allocated in the university’s general budget, according to Butler.

The NKU Search and Screening Committee chose Isaacson, Miller because of its experience with other university administration position searches. Butler said NKU will try to draw candidates from other universities. These will be people who may not have been actively looking for a job already.

After the university and student forums held between Oct. 26 and 28, the firm and committee will develop a job description for potential applicants. The committee plans to send an advertisement and notice of vacancy to the Chronicle of Higher Education by Nov. 18.

Through November and December, the committee will receive application materials from candidates and whoever does not meet qualifications will be sent rejection letters.

Butler said the committee is “pushing to keep on schedule” with the original timeline, which says the new president will be named in March.