Oakland U Chief Sorry for Silence on Hiring

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Oakland University President George Hynd apologized Wednesday for a lapse in communication surrounding the Rochester-based college’s decision to create and fill a new $325,000-a-year chief operating officer position without conducting a formal search.

Retiring Fiat Chrysler Automotive safety boss Scott Kunselman will begin duties Dec. 1 in the position. The decision had come under fire from the university’s professors’ union.

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“I understand the concern about there not being a national search (to fill the position),” Hynd said before introducing Kunselman to a crowd assembled at the university’s student center.

If Kunzelman, who formerly served on the university’s board of trustees, hadn’t been available, a formal search would have been conducted, Hynd said.

Concerns about the process “registered,” he said. “I’m an impatient person. I like to move quickly. … I have an ambitious plan for the university.”

Kunzelman, appointed to the newly created COO position on Oct. 27, will oversee the day-to-day operations at the 20,000-student university, freeing Hynd to focus on fundraising and other responsibilities.

The new executive’s duties are still being determined, Hynd said.

Kunselman said he hopes to leverage connections he made with high-ranking auto industry executives to benefit the university.

“Oakland is so uniquely positioned in terms of location and prestige,” he said.

» For more about the speech, go to The Oakland Press.