Submitted on behalf of James W. Nolan Jr. ’77, Parent ’01, chair of the Presidential Search Committee
It has now been just over three weeks since the search for Ithaca College’s next president officially went “live” with the publication and distribution of the position prospectus. We are now in full gear. Our search consultants are compiling profiles and beginning to contact candidates, and we are working with them to ensure the qualities of our candidates are consistent with our needs as an institution. We are still early in the process, but I am very optimistic about our prospects due to the rich candidate pool already in front of us.
A number of questions have arisen over the last few weeks regarding the search process and how it will be conducted. I’m pleased to report to you that as a committee, we are embracing an approach that will be confidential up to the point of selecting finalists. Those finalists will openly engage with the IC community for the final stage of the process. This is consistent with the feedback many of you have provided us, and aligned with similar searches conducted by the college historically.
To that end, we have formed a sub-committee comprising the on-campus members of the search committee to work through the specifics and make recommendations to the full committee on how those finalists will be presented to the campus. We anticipate reporting back to the community the expectations related to this process this fall, as we get closer to the finalist visits.
I’ve also been asked questions about how the final selection will take place.
Feedback from the campus community about each finalist will be solicited and considered by the search committee as part of its final review. The search committee will then submit its recommended candidates in unranked order, along with the campus feedback, to the full Board of Trustees, which will make the final selection.
As it relates to timing, we anticipate that the committee will be busy in the fall matching the needs of the institution with the qualities of our candidates and narrowing our field. We will also continue to regularly provide updates to the campus community.
Because we are still early in the search process, I want to encourage you once again to share with us at ithacapresident@spencerstuart.com the names of any candidates you think would be appropriate for the position. Also, I hope you will share the prospectus—known as the “opportunity statement”—with colleagues and others in your circles of professional and personal contacts. We would like to cast as wide a net as possible for this search, and our faculty, staff, students, and alumni are a critical component in that effort.
In closing, know that your committee is actively engaged, diligent, and committed to success. We will continue to update you along the way, and we look forward to your continued input by contacting us at ithacapresident@spencerstuart.com.
All the best,
Jim Nolan ’77, Parent ’01
Chair, Presidential Search Committee
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20160701143244665