On June 11, 2015, President Sallee announced that he would be retiring from William Jewell College in August 2016. In response, the Board of Trustees created a Presidential Search Committee so that a replacement for Sallee could be found.
By Aug. 31, 2015, the search committee had its first meeting and met with Student Senate, faculty and staff members and the Board of Trustees. The committee is composed of seven trustees, including the two who serve as the Chair and Vice Chair of the committee, but also two faculty members, Dr. Gary Armstrong and Dr. Donna Garner, a staff member, Shawn Weigel, an alumna, Eileen Houston-Stewart, and a current student, Freja Ingelstam.
But what have they been doing since that first August meeting?
The College has hired a search firm to help narrow down the pool of candidates. AGB Search has recently helped Millsaps College appoint a new vice president of finance and The College of Wooster appoint a new president, and the firm is currently helping Jewell find it’s 15th president. Specifically, Dr. Thomas Courtice and Dr. Oscar Page from AGB Search are working with the committee.
The due date for applicants interested in the position was Nov. 30. Before that, according to a statement posted by Susan Chambers, chair of the search committee, and John Gill, chair of the Board of Trustees, on the Jewell website, the committee began to look over applications a few days before the due date, and they have meetings scheduled in December to select candidates for interviews.
The formal interviews will take place in January. The candidates who were chosen will be interviewed by an expanded version of the search committee, including more trustees, faculty, staff and students. Once an interview has been finished, all the members of the committee will be invited to share their opinions with the Board of Trustees. The Board will make the final selection.
According to the President Profile for the College’s search, applicants who are “experienced and highly qualified leaders who are committed to providing excellent liberal arts and professional undergraduate programs for students on a beautiful residential campus” are welcome to apply.
This profile gives an overview of the College’s faculty members, students, campus life, academic statistics and other points of distinction. What seems most pertinent to a potential presidential candidate is the section labelled as “Leadership Opportunities for New President.”
It is under this section that challenges, opportunities and desired attributes of a new leader are listed.
Some of the desired attributes include: “experience in senior level administration”; a record of significant accomplishments in leadership roles”; and “a demonstrated history of sound fiscal management, executive experience and demonstrated leadership, management and mentoring skills.”
Freja Inglestam, junior international relations and history major, is the student representative on the Presidential Search Committee.
“I consider it a great honor to have the opportunity to serve on the committee. It is great to be part of this important process for Jewell as well as a valuable learning experience and I am enjoying learning more about the other branches of Jewell than what we are naturally exposed to as students,” said Inglestam.
Feature photo by Kristen Agar. Infographic by Kelsey Neth.