WESTFIELD — State education officials are exerting more oversight in the search for a Westfield State University president than when Evan S. Dobelle was hired in 2007.
New guidelines for the search and selection of state university and community college presidents which went into effect last year will now give the Commissioner and Board of the state’s Department of Higher Education more authority in the selection of school presidents.
These guidelines were in the works prior to the controversy over Dobelle’s travel and spending that embroiled the institution last summer.
The Board of Higher Education approved the new measures in June 2013 in response to state lawmakers seeking direct involvement by the Department of Higher Education in the areas of presidential searches, performance reviews and their compensation.
