`Targeted` searches called into question
Transcription
`Targeted` searches called into question
Inside Red Wings even series with Blackhawks, B1 P OW E R I N G M L I V E .C O M Sunday, May 19, 2013 $2.00 ‘Targeted’ searches called into question USED TO RECRUIT SUPERINTENDENTS BY JULIE MACK [email protected] MARK BUGNASKI | MLIVE.COM Ronda Stryker, a philanthropist best known for her work in higher education, is the recipient of the 2013 YWCA Lifetime Woman of Achievement award. Stryker, 59, will be honored Tuesday at the 29th Annual YWCA Women of Achievement Award Celebration at the Radisson Plaza Hotel. Opportunity, achievement Ronda Stryker’s passion and sense of justice drive her life and work, lead to YWCA award KALAMAZOO — The screensaver on Ronda Stryker’s iPad is a black-and-white family photo from 1958. It shows Ronda at age 4 and her sister, Patricia, who was about 2, with their grandfather, Homer Stryker, and a Circo Lectric Bed, one of Homer Stryker’s most famous inventions. That Ronda Stryker cherishes the photo is no surprise considering the central role her grandfather has played in her life. It was the company he founded that made Ronda and her two siblings billionaires and a perennial presence on the Forbes magazine list of wealthiest Americans. But even more than money, Homer Stryker’s legacy for his grandchildren was instilling the importance of serving others, helping those less fortunate and working every day to make the world a better place. “It’s all about doing the right thing because it’s the right thing, not because someone is thanking you or because you’ll get recognition,” said Annie Johnston, 22, the youngest of Ronda Stryker’s three children. It’s a value system Stryker, 59, takes to heart, dating back to the days when she was a teenager advocating for racial integration in Kalamazoo Public Schools and, a few years later, a young KPS teacher working with special-education students. In more recent years, Stryker has become known as a handson philanthropist who — much like her grandfather — combines an idealist’s passion with a pragmatist’s eye for problemsolving. Stryker, who has served on the Stryker Corp. board for almost 30 years, is the only Stryker family member with a direct role in the company. Together with Bill Johnston, her husband of 30 years, Stryker has invested considerable time and money into her hometown. Although the couple’s A 1958 photo of Dr. Homer Stryker, founder of Stryker Corp., shows his granddaughters, Patricia, 2, on his shoulders, and Ronda, 4. They are pictured with a Circo Lectic Bed, one of Stryker’s most famous inventions. COURTESY | ANNIE JOHNSTON modeling as a volunteer and/ or in a career.” The YWCA cited Stryker’s “passion for the causes that she cares about,” as well as the effectiveness of her philanthropic efforts, which range from serving on the board of Spelman College, a historically black liberal arts college for women; to working on reproductive health issues in the Third World; to involvement with local institutations such as Kalamazoo College and the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. A common theme among Stryker’s causes is empowering women and minorities through education, particularly higher education. “Racism and sexism make me crazy,” she said during a recent interview. “I’ve been that way since I was born.” Johnston agrees his wife is outspoken. “You always know where Ronda stands” and that includes her passion on social justice issues, he said. “Any unfairness or injustice is something that Ronda just can’t tolerate,” he said. “It’s part of the fabric of her being. ... She has a passion for things that matter.” A Kalamazoo upbringing Perhaps not coincidentally, it was a passion for things that SEE STRYKER, A11 ADVICE G6 ENTERTAINMENT G1 OPINION H3 AUTOMOTIVE ADS D1 LOCAL A3 OUTDOORS B8 LOTTERY A2 SPORTS B1 OBITUARIES C3 WEATHER C6 BUSINESS KA SUNDAY penchant for anonymous donations makes the true scope of their impact unclear — “It’s about humility and not seeking the limelight,” Johnston said — they are among Kalamazoo County’s most influential residents, ensuring that Stryker money and Stryker Corp. continue as a powerful, positive force in the community. In recognition of her accomplishments, Stryker on Tuesday will receive the 2013 YWCA Lifetime Woman of Achievement award, which honors a Kalamazoo-area resident who has “demonstrated a lifetime of outstanding contributions to the well-being of the community, state or nation, and has a record of accomplishment, leadership and positive role CLASSIFIED ADS I1 E3 BY EMILY MONACELLI [email protected] KALAMAZOO — Five people interested in leading Kalamazoo city government through a time of transition and downsizing will get a chance next week to make their cases to the Kalamazoo City Commission on why they are a fit for the job. Sixty-minute public interviews with each candidate are scheduled to start at noon Tuesday in the secondfloor commission chambers at Kalamazoo City Hall, 241 W. South St. The finalists chosen by city commissioners from a candidate pool of 47 earlier this month include managers of Michigan cities, an SEE INTERVIEWS, A2 Stocks/Mutual Funds lists inside 10% begins at Mulder’s! OFF Trees • Shrubs • Perennials Top Soils • Landscaping Materials Much, much more! LANDSCAPE SUPPLIES, M U L D E R ’ S MULDER’S M ULDER ’SINC. Corner of RAVINE & NICHOLS ROAD economic development director and a deputy state treasurer. All have experience as city managers. Six finalists had been scheduled to interview for the Kalamazoo job, but Odis Jones, director of economic development for the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, said Friday that he was dropping his candidacy. Kalamazoo city government is in the late phases of an early retirement program instituted in 2011 to erase a $6-million budget deficit. More than 200 employees have retired, some of whom have been replaced, but the workforce will have been reduced from 733 employees to 634 by the end of 2013. Those accepting the retirement offer include current City Manager Kenneth Collard, Deputy City A page summarizing last week’s closing stock prices is on Page I5; Mutual Funds are on Page I6. Outdoor Beauty www.mulderslandscapekalamazoo.com SEE SEARCHES, A4 City manager candidate interviews Tuesday at City Hall 345-6900 4577288-02 BY JULIE MACK [email protected] KALAMAZOO — Portage Public Schools and the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency are both using a so-called “targeted” search process to pick a new leader, a strategy getting more attention in Michigan but raising questions about board transparency and accountability — not to mention compliance with Michigan law. “Targeted search” largely refers to a strategy of recruiting a pool of select candidates versus posting the job and taking applications. It also can refer to presenting a single “targeted” candidate to the public as the sole finalist for the job. Supporters of targeted searches say they are more efficient and allow for recruitment of better candidates. “It’s a different world now,” KRESA Superintendent Ron Fuller said. “You’re going to start seeing targeted searches more and more. Targeted searches make all the sense in the world,” particularly at a time when there is a dearth of high-quality superintendent applicants. Others see targeted searches as an end run around the spirit if not the letter of the Michigan law, which requires the search process to be largely conducted in the public eye. “A targeted search can be a mechanism to avoid all the requirements of the Open Meetings Act,” said Robin Luce Herrmann, legal counsel for the Michigan Press Association and an expert on the OMA. In fact, the concerns are such that the Michigan Association of School Boards, one of the largest providers of search consultants in the state, refuses to do a targeted process. “I don’t believe in them,” said Dick Dunham, who heads the MASB’s superintendent search services. Dunham said Michigan has one of the more restrictive laws in the country in regards to what can happen behind closed doors when public bodies are conducting leadership searches. The law allows elected bodies to review job applications in closed session if the candidates have requested confidentiality. But the discussion and decision about narrowing the pool of candidates and deciding who to interview must be made in public. In addition, those interviews also must be conducted in public; private interviews are forbidden. Processed Top Soil MULDER’S Expires 5/25/13 Mon. - Fri. 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. • Sat. 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.