Johnson ‘pauses’ search for new athletic director
By Scott Unger, McMinnville N-R/News-Register, Feb 21, 2024
Linfield University interim President Becky Johnson announced Monday that the school’s search for a new athletic director has been paused, but a new hire is still expected by the spring.
“I’ve found through this process that there is quite a bit of polarization on campus about who the athletic director should be,” Johnson told the News-Register.
“I’ve never experienced this before in a search process where there’s real polarization between the candidates
and who people want to see.”
Former Athletic Director Gary Killgore was reassigned last year and Doug Hire has been serving as interim AD since.
The school has identified three finalists for the position and isn’t necessarily looking for more candidates, she said. The university has declined to release the candidates’ names as two are still in other positions.
“It’s not a failed search, they’re still our three finalists. Take a pause and hopefully they’ll stay in the mix,” she said.
Johnson will make the call on the final hiring decision and hopes the pause will create a more positive environment for when a candidate is chosen.
“I am concerned about whether one of those candidates can be successful, can come into this situation that we’re in right now and be successful, so I’ve actually suspended the search for now,” she said. “I want to make sure we work on some things within athletics and within the broader Linfield community. We need to make sure that people appreciate and respect the role that athletics plays at Linfield and in the broader community and how important it is to our enrollment. Just that there’s kind of cross-respect and appreciation from staff, administration, faculty and the athletic coaches and everybody else.”
Johnson didn’t say how long the pause would be in place but said the timeline to find a permanent AD remains, with a candidate expected to be hired before the end of the school year.
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