Chancellor Reaves in no rush; hopes to place AD by Thanksgiving

A decision on the Athletic Director vacancy has not been made yet, but Chancellor Reaves hopes the resolution will come within the next seven weeks.

 Reaves said he wants to hire the appropriate person for the position by the beginning of this month, but has been unable to fulfill that intention.

"Obviously, the date has slipped somewhat," Reaves said.

"I wanted to have an AD chosen by Oct. 1, but given what happened to the candidate to whom the position was offered, we had to kind of restart the search, and that's exactly what we've done.   I would hope to have an AD selected by the middle of November, ideally, before Thanksgiving."

The Athletic Director position has been open since February 2009, after the release of Dr. Percy "Chico" Caldwell.  Tonia Walker has been the interim AD since.

"While I did not anticipate that I would be serving in the interim capacity for the past seven months, I have accepted the challenge with great optimism," Walker said.

"I'm not certain as to why the decision has been delayed; however, I am a true believer that all things happen for a reason.  The extended time will allow the search committee the time needed to identify the right AD for the job."

Of the candidates who still qualify for the position, former Rams' football coach Bill Hayes has peaked a level of interest within the Winston-Salem community.

During his 12-year tenure, Hayes accumulated an 89-41-2 record in the late 1970s and 1980s.  He also led the Rams to seven CIAA championship games and won three titles. Hayes holds the Athletic Director position at Florida A&M.   

"I don't know Bill [Hayes]," Reaves said.  "I never worked with him, so I had to ask people about him, and I've done that.  I've asked people around town, and people have taken the liberty of picking up the phone and calling me and say ‘Hey, you should take a look at Bill Hayes.'  I was happy that he applied.

"This is someone I understand who has an awful lot of experience in athletic administration at schools similar to WSSU," Reaves said.

"He was here as the winningest football coach in the history of the University, then he moved to A&T, then he moved to [N.C.] Central, and now he's at FAMU.   That's an awful lot of experience that could benefit this University.  To my understanding, he also has very deep ties into the community which is very important as an AD at WSSU."

Along with community relations, Reaves added that the qualified applicant must also have fundraising capacity and leadership abilities.  These are the three overriding criteria for this selection process especially with the transition back to Division II.

"We had over 80 applicants for the position," Reaves said. 

"And part of that process I understand, is the committee asks various candidates about their preference.  Some candidates said ‘I would not come here if you are a Division II school.'

 "Most all of them [candidates] said it didn't make them any difference.  What is taking so much time is the effort to get the absolute best person for the job.  It is important, given that we made this decision to go back to Division II, to have someone in place who really understands the athletic process and can lead us through that."

If the interim tag is not removed from Walker's title, both Reaves and Walker are insistent that she will return to her previous position as associate director and senior women's administrator.

"I will say that I've been faced with issues that I would have not had to address in my former position," Walker said.

"I have been forced to make decisions that are unpopular, but again all that I've experienced over the last seven months is preparing me in my career goals and positions me to better assist the Athletic Director once named."

Reaves said there is no rush in the filling of this position because he wants to get the right person for the job.     

"I'm prepared to take whatever time is necessary to make sure I get the right person in here.  And I'm able to do that because I'm fortunate to have someone like Tonia Walker in place, who I have a lot of confidence in. 

"I think she's doing a great job, and I'm not under a lot of pressure to hurry up and make a decision because I have someone like her in place."