How a Public Search Cost a Provost Her Job

Desdemona Cardoza had presidential aspirations, but her experience with a public job search has tempered her enthusiasm.

The former provost of California State University at Los Angeles thought she would someday lead the institution. To prepare, she decided it would be a good idea to try a provost job at a larger campus. In November, when she was nominated for the role at California State at Long Beach, she submitted her application.

Ms. Cardoza kept quiet about her intentions until she knew she was a serious contender for the job. But once she was named a finalist and asked to visit Long Beach for a public interview, in March, she told her boss, President James M. Rosser of Cal State at Los Angeles.

“He said, ‘If you go on the campus interview, regardless of the outcome, you will need to step down as provost here at L.A.,” Ms. Cardoza says.

Her situation is not unique, search consultants say. Provosts are becoming increasingly hesitant to apply for presidential or even other provost positions when a search is open, not wanting to risk their losing the job they have.

“This is no longer just a plague of the presidency,” says Jan Greenwood, a search consultant.

Ms. Cardoza decided to go to Long Beach for the interview, and the next day the university where Ms. Cardoza had worked for 22 years began searching for a new provost. President Rosser declined to comment.

The president’s reasoning, Ms. Cardoza says, was that once the public search alerted faculty members to her consideration of other positions, they would lose confidence in her. She says that was not the case, but she understands the concern.

Ms. Cardoza did not get the job at Long Beach. She later applied for the presidency of Pasadena City College, where she was one of two finalists, but ultimately she did not get that job, either.

Now she is taking a six-month administrative leave before returning to the faculty at Los Angeles as a psychology professor. She wants to continue pursuing leadership positions but says her two unsuccessful attempts have changed how she approaches the job hunt.

“The whole way this has happened has made me very cautious,” she says. “I’m certainly not going to get a reputation of being out there and being constantly turned down.”