Director and deputy director of the IEA will be chosen directly by a broad electoral college

Meeting of the University Council on December 8 approved changes to the electoral process for new directors of specialized institutes and museums

The successor to the current director of the IEA, Martin Grossmann, whose term ends on February 28, 2016, will be chosen through a new electoral system: slates with candidates for director and deputy director will run, and the winner will be the most voted by the substantially expanded electoral college considering the history of the IEA and the representation of all units of the USP.

The whole process will be coordinated by an Election Commission which will include a member external to the USP and may encourage the registration of candidates (USP professors) it deems appropriate for the direction of the Institute.

The change of the process, which is valid for the other specialized institutes and museums as well, has been inserted into the General Regulations of the USP through Resolution No. 7155 by President Marco Antonio Zago, who formalized the measure approval at the University Council meeting on December 8. The adoption of a dispute between slates for all directive instances of the University is now complete.

When the initial period for the registration of the slates opens, they should consist of full professors and / or associate professors accordingly to the resolution. If at least two slates do not register, the period shall be extended and also associate professors in general may participate in the process.

In the case of the IEA, the resolution provides a composition of the electoral college that is even more specific and comprehensive, allowing the participation of people associated with the history of the Institute, thus expanding links to all units of the USP. It will be composed of current and former members of the Board, former directors and deputy directors, directors of other units of the University and representatives of their congregations in the University Council.

The Election Commission will have five members. Three of them will be chosen by the IEA's Board, as follows: two professors from USP, one of them being a member of the Board, and one member external to the University but of recognized merit. The other two members shall be professors of any unit of the USP, both appointed by the president.

It will be up to the Commission to disclose the electoral process, encouraging the registration of suitable candidates to the demands of the positions and promoting public debates, working in the stages of slates registration, voting and counting.

The IEA has committed to defend the proposition that the choice of leaders would be made by specific criteria, as demonstrated by the article Um novo modelo para identificar dirigentes na Universidade (or "A new model for identifying leaders at the University"), published by Grossmann in the University Journal on November 9, 2015.

Photo: IPTV USP