A Dec. 11 communication from the Lab Search Advisory Committee for a new Laboratory Schools Director announced that they have selected a pool of candidates for an initial round of interviews. 

The search, which began in September, seeks to fill the position after former director Charlie Abelmann stepped down May 6. 

The SAC consists of representatives from both the Lab community and the University of Chicago and is assisted by the executive search firm Storbeck and Associates.

“I’m really really happy with the amount of careful work that’s happening and being done by a team of people who are really really committed to doing it the right way and getting the right person here for this position,” said Samuel Nekrosius, a middle school humanities teacher and member of the SAC. 

Details of the search are confidential as to respect the privacy of prospective candidates and the members of the SAC. 

“The search committee is really dedicated to keeping the process very discreet for the protection of all the candidates and really also so that we’re able to have really really open, honest discussions with each other,” Mr. Nekrosius said.

Mr. Nekrosius admitted that questions about the search may not be fully answered, but he nonetheless encouraged members of the Lab community to contribute their thoughts on the search process. 

“The voices that we’ve heard from really do influence the kind of discussions we have and are important,” Mr. Nekrosius said. “We don’t see ourselves as the ones who are making the decision ourselves but that we are the people who are working on behalf of this broader community, the Lab community, to find a really strong director for this decision.”