URBANA — The first of four visits by candidates for the position of Uni High director will take place Friday, with the other visits slated for next week.

Here are the candidates and the days they will be at Uni:

• Friday, Feb. 6 — Angela Farmer
• Monday, Feb. 9 — Deborah Clarke
• Tuesday, Feb. 10 — Karl Radnitzer
• Thursday, Feb. 12 — Jeffrey Walkington

Each candidate will meet with the curriculum committee from 8:15 to 8:50 a.m., followed by a meeting with the executive committee from 8:55 to 9:20 (faculty and staff are welcome to sit in). Both meetings will be in Room 312.

Assistant Director Sue Kovacs and Director of Development Karen Cooley will have a private conference with the candidate from 9:30 to 10:15. A tour of Uni will follow until 11:35, then the candidate will have lunch with Student Council members in Room 109 (others are welcome to sit in).

The search committee has released the following biographical sketches of the candidates, published here in alphabetical order:

Dr. Deborah Clarke
Dr. Clarke was raised in Pontiac, Mich., and attended Eastern Michigan University, where she earned her B.S., M.A., and Ed.D. degrees. She has taught and been principal at all three levels of education, including serving the principal at Farmington High School in Farmington, Mich. She has experience as assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction at two school districts and as superintendent at Buena Vista School District in Saginaw, Mich. She was recruited to Zion-Benton School District north of Chicago, where she most recently served as superintendent of schools. Dr. Clarke has experience in teaching and administration at all levels of public education.

Dr. Angela Farmer
Dr. Farmer was born and raised in a small town in southern Illinois. She began taking college courses at age 14 and had completed 60-plus hours before she graduated from high school in Metropolis, Ill. She earned two degrees from Murray State in Kentucky in biology and biochemistry and began working for the United States Enrichment Corporation as a senior scientist on several classified projects. Dr. Farmer left the business world to pursue a career that could make a difference in the lives of young people. She taught chemistry and physics for three years at Massac School District in Metropolis. She moved to Pope County Community School as principal/superintendent for two years where she helped that district open doors for bright students with new programs and courses in science and mathematics. For the last six years, Dr. Farmer has served in Metropolis as assistant superintendent.

Mr. Karl Radnitzer
Mr. Radnitzer was born and raised in Oak Park, Ill., graduating with a B.A. from North Park College (now North Park University) in Chicago. He has added graduate degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Chicago. He is currently finishing a Ph.D. in education with a focus on human resource education and educational organizational leadership from the University of Illinois and he expects to receive the degree early in 2009. Mr. Radnitzer has worked as a teacher in the Oak Park School District 97 and at the University of Chicago Lab School and as a consultant in organizational improvement for two organizations. He was the principal at Leal School in Urbana for five years before moving to his present position with Millikin University as a program coordinator. Mr. Radnitzer is the parent of two children who have or are presently attending Uni High.

Dr. Jeffrey Walkington
Dr. Walkington earned a B.A. in English and French from DePauw University, Greencastle, Ind. He added an M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Dr. Walkington taught English in a public high school in Knoxville for five years before returning to the University of Tennessee to complete his advanced degrees. Upon completing his Ph.D., Dr. Walkington moved to the Webb School in Knoxville for four years, holding several positions, including director of public relations. Dr. Walkington was recruited to the Cannon School in Concord, N.C., as assistant headmaster/head of the upper school, serving from 1998 to 2006. He returned to Illinois to assume his current role of vice president of academic affairs at the Latin School of Chicago. Dr. Walkington grew up near Normal, Ill., and several members of his family reside in the area.

Uni has been without a permanent director since late July 2007. Dr. Steve Epperson, a former Uni teacher and interim director as well as a principal and superintendent in other Illinois school districts, came out of retirement in August 2007 to succeed Kassie Patton.

Epperson agreed to serve as interim director for a year, which stretched into two years after the search was delayed.

The search committee, announced in early January, consists of:

• Craig Russell (chair) — elected faculty representative (math), current Uni parent
• David Stone — elected faculty representative (science), former Uni parent
• Billy Vaughn — elected faculty representative (social studies)
• Renee Baillargeon — U of I professor of psychology, former Uni parent
• Rita Black-Morocoima — local resident, former Uni parent
• Robert Coverdill — Parent-Faculty Organization president, current and former Uni parent
• Michele Crockett — U of I assistant professor of education, K-12 researcher
• John Hedeman — former director/principal (1998-2003), former Uni parent

The search as a whole has been managed by Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates. Representatives from the firm visited the school in September to get input from faculty, staff, and students in preparation for launching the search.

A Profile of Qualities Sought in the Next Director

Director Steve Epperson sent an e-mail to Uni students and parents on Sept. 5 that included a document listing the qualities that a potential director should have. Here is the profile.

The director of Uni High should be a person who:

• Champions the needs of the school to the community and to the provost of the University of Illinois.
• Understands and has experience in fundraising.
• Collaborates with faculty members to achieve the mission and vision of the school.
• Demonstrates personal and intellectual integrity.
• Values the school’s university campus location and the freedom and responsibility given to students.
• Communicates openly and transparently with all those associated with the school.
• Understands excellence in high school education and supports the academic freedom of a talented staff.
• Represents the school faculty to the University of Illinois on matters of salary and benefits.
• Respects the current culture of the school while bringing new ideas for productive change.
• Focuses on the educational needs of the students of the school and makes decisions in collaboration with the school staff based on these needs.
• Implements staff development programs aimed at individual growth, collaborative school efforts, and high student achievement.
• Promotes the school’s athletic and fine arts programs.
• Recognizes and enlists the talents of graduates of the school for the good of the current students and program.
• Appropriates work time based on the need to maintain good order in the school while also representing the school in the community.
• Delegates appropriately to school staff based on the talents and skills of others.
• Demonstrates strong organizational skills aimed at effective and efficient management of the school.
• Supports students with special needs in a high school of high achievers.
• Demonstrates a clear understanding of the developmental needs of gifted and talented students and support services needed to meet these needs.
• Understands the value of a multicultural and diverse student body reflective of the diversity of the community.