DeKALB – The 28 men and women in charge of finding Northern Illinois University’s next president can agree on one thing: He or she needs to be a proverbial Superman.

At the presidential search committee’s first meeting Thursday, each member sounded off on what they would like to see in the university’s 12th president. They complimented outgoing president John Peters, but agreed they need someone who can take the whole school “to the next level.”

“I would like for someone to have the courage and vision to recognize this [university] model isn’t working,” accountancy professor Pamela Smith said. “[Someone who is] being open-minded of taking aggressive, successful steps to operate as a public institution with a private mindset.”