It really was never closed as the law prescribes. The new law doesn’t mandate that we know who the six currently are at this point. In years past, airport interviews would have been conducted to conceal the identity of the 6 current candidates. But since NDUS opted for on-campus visits, the identies had to be revealed, even though by law, names don’t have to be divulged until 3 finalists are chosen. I am sure the search firm had to let potential candidates know this, and is most likely why sitting presidents such as Shirley didn’t even apply this time.
I shudder to think how much worse the clown show would have been had it been completely wide open like it was in the past . Gross.