Washington Athletics | Committee formed to search for an AD

The University of Washington took a step toward finding a replacement for Todd Turner as athletic director Friday, announcing the formation of a 14-person search committee.

The committee will be chaired by Lizabeth A. Wilson, dean of the university's libraries, and includes men's basketball coach Lorenzo Romar, women's soccer coach Lesle Gallimore and Brooke Anderson, a member of the women's cross-country team.

Washington president Mark Emmert said the committee will likely meet for the first time next week, and that the job will be advertised shortly after. The committee will be entrusted to identify a small pool of candidates, with Emmert then making the final decision.

Turner resigned in December. Scott Woodward, UW's vice president for external affairs, has been serving as the interim athletic director since Jan. 31.

There has been much speculation that Woodward could end up being the permanent athletic director. In an interview with The Times on Friday, Woodward said he isn't ready to throw his hat in the ring for the job but said, "I'm in the direction of leaning towards doing it."

Woodward said he has been hesitant to say he is a candidate because "I wanted to make darn sure I was a good fit."

But he said he has enjoyed his month on the job and said, "I'm feeling more comfortable," citing the positive "response I've received from not only the staff internally but from people externally."

Emmert, however, said he had "very mixed emotions" about Woodward's possible candidacy, noting Woodward's value to the university in his current position. Woodward worked in a similar role with Emmert at LSU before the two came to Washington in 2004.

"He's so good at his day job, I'm not sure I want to lose him," Emmert said.

Emmert said that while Woodward could be a candidate for the job, and the eventual hire, he plans to conduct a full-scale search for a new AD.

"It's important that everyone knows that this is a very real search, and Scott is well aware of that," Emmert said. "We are going to go out and find the best person available. If he wants to be a candidate, he will be a candidate and the committee will look at him along with everybody else, and then we'll see how it goes.

"But this will be an honest-to-goodness search. I wouldn't waste people's time and the institution's money if it was anything else."

Emmert said he had yet to decide if the school will hire an outside firm to help in the search, as was done in 2004 when Turner was selected.

Emmert said such firms can be helpful in conducting interviews with sitting athletic directors who might not want to talk directly with representatives of another school.

"The answer is yes, we probably will, but I haven't made that decision firmly," he said.

The other members of the search committee are John Connors, member of the Tyee board of advisers; J. Patrick Dobel, public-affairs professor and the UW faculty athletics representative; Ronald E. Dukes, an accounting professor; Anne Gittinger, Tyee board member; Eric Godfrey, vice provost, student life; Christine Ingebritsen, Scandinavian studies professor; Sheila Edwards Lange, vice president for minority affairs and diversity; David Lovell, a psychosocial and community health professor; Carol S. Niccolls, special counsel to the president; and Edward Taylor, vice provost and dean for undergraduate academic affairs.