The Presidential Search Committee met with three finalist candidates on November 18, 19, and 20. Each finalist had the opportunity to experience a tour of the campus, an informal pre-dinner conversation with two alumni representatives, and dinner with Board of Trustees Chair Doron Clark ’00 and Search Committee Chair Cindy Gregorson ’81. Their interview days consisted of a breakfast meeting with Acting/Interim President Kathy Murray, conversation with several stakeholder groups including the University Leadership Team, faculty, staff, students, a presentation and Q & A with the Board of Trustees, and a final interview with the Search Committee. All stakeholders were asked to complete a feedback form that was shared with the Search Committee. On and off-list reference checks, social media checks, and background checks were completed by Academic Search for all three finalists.
The Presidential Search Committee met for its final meeting on Wednesday, December 4 to recommend two unranked candidates for consideration by the Board of Trustees. There was strong consensus among Search Committee members regarding our recommendation which was presented to the Board of Trustees on the afternoon of December 4. With that presentation, the work of the Presidential Search Committee was concluded.
I want to personally thank the stakeholders who invested three consecutive days to meet with our finalist candidates. We heard very positive feedback from our finalists about how rich the conversations were, how well our stakeholders represented Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK, and the way we embody our mission and commitment to our students.
Appreciation also goes to our team at Academic Search—Maya Kirkhope, Kate Haley, and Jordan Horvath. They helped us to build a strong pool of candidates and helped us to design and manage our process. Also, our deepest thanks go to Betsy Radtke, who was the staff support to the Search Committee and without whom we could not have done our work.
And finally, please share your thanks with the members of the Presidential Search Committee who served you so capably in this process. They gave hours and hours of time and were so engaged and passionate about the future of Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK and the needs of this community as we sought to determine the best candidate for our next President. It was a pleasure to serve with such a committed, collegial, and collaborative team.
Thank you for your support of the committee and this process and respecting the confidentiality agreements we have in place. Even as the search is concluded, those who signed confidentiality agreements are required to neither disclose any candidate names who were under consideration nor any details of the search that are considered personnel-related.
It was a joy, once again, to be able to see Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK through the lens of our candidates and recognize what a special place Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK is. It is because of you — our faculty, staff, students, administration, and alumni — that we are able to give our students amazing opportunities to make the world a better place.
The next announcement to the Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK community will come from the Board of Trustees in early-to-mid January.
Go Pipers!
Cindy Gregorson ’81
Trustee
Chair, Presidential Search Committee
