University President Father Edward Malloy said he has entrusted his future at Notre Dame to the Board of Trustees, which is currently reviewing his tenure at the University's highest position.According to Malloy, he asked the Board to evaluate the University's performance after his 17th year as president, believing it was the ideal time for a review to determine what Notre Dame needed and in what direction it should be headed."I have no idea myself how it'll go," Malloy said. "I'm happy with whatever the outcome is because I asked them to do it. ... I'm not seeking to say on, because I think that should be the decision of the Board - but I will do whatever the Board wants in terms of what the future has in store."The Board of Trustees elected Malloy as president in November 1986, and he has served in that role since June 1, 1987.However, Malloy said he would remain as president past 2005 if that were the Board's request. "At the Trustees meeting they'll say, 'Monk, we've decided that it's time to begin the search process,'" Malloy said. "Or they could say, 'We'd like you to stay for some additional period of time.'" If the Board decides to begin the presidential search process following next week's meeting, Malloy said the trustees could announce his successor in November. The chosen candidate would then take over the helm of the University the following June.While Malloy believes the decision will be announced in upcoming weeks, he said he was uncertain whether the Board would deliver its decision at the April 29-30 trustee meeting.Malloy does, however, expect the Board to name a new Executive Vice President at the next meeting. The third highest-ranking position at the University has been vacant for nearly a year, after Father Tim Scully resigned prior to the Board's Spring 2003 meeting. Though previous Executive Vice Presidents have been priests from the Congregation of the Holy Cross, University spokesman Matt Storin said there are no prerequisites for the position. "They look for an aptitude for business and administration in choosing someone for that job," Storin said. The Executive Vice President oversees approximately 3,000 employees and is responsible for overseeing Notre Dame's financial affairs, WNDU, the endowment and the campus plan, among other responsibilities, Storin said. Since Scully's resignation, Malloy has taken over the responsibilities of the Executive Vice President position."I think the Board looked at several models about how this job should be fashioned," Storin added, "but with the possibility of some tweaking here and there, the job will remain as is."When he does step down as president, Malloy said he will look back on his tenure as an exciting point in Notre Dame's history, adding that he is proud to be part of an era distinguished by the work of great people and a "tremendous amount of support."In his remaining time at the University, Malloy hopes to work on the completion of the next strategic plan - "Notre Dame 2010: Fulfilling the Promise" - and to prepare the community for its implementation, joking that this was "enough to keep anyone busy.""That's what we're about right now," Malloy said. "In my remaining days as president, that's what I hope to be able to do. And when I pass on the mantle to the next president, I hope to leave the University in good shape.""Fulfilling the Promise," which Malloy said builds off previous strategic plans, focuses on the reaffirmation of great teaching, graduate research and scholarship, promotion of Catholic intellectual life and internationalization and diversity.Storin said he expects the Board to approve "Notre Dame 2010: Fulfilling the Promise" at next week's meeting.
