UCLA Senior Associate AD MARK HARLAN was introduced yesterday as the Univ. of South Florida's new AD and promised "accountability, transparency, bold decision making and an attentive ear," according to Joey Knight of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Harlan, whose five-year contract will pay a $500,000 annual base salary, "vowed to work tirelessly to resuscitate a Bulls program that has watched its relevance and attendance dwindle in football and men's basketball." Harlan was "selected from 34 candidates vetted by a Texas-based search firm hired by USF." No "formal records from the private firm were produced." However, USF Search Advisory Committee President BILL SUTTON said that "13 of the candidates were sitting ADs." He added 28% of the candidates were women or "people of color." Sutton said, "(Harlan) is a listener, he's a communicator, he's a doer. I think we've found absolutely the best person in the country to lead us to the next level." Sutton "worked closely" with search firm Eastman & Beaudine CEO BOB BEAUDINE (TAMPABAY.com, 3/11).
