The Shimer College Presidential Search Committee was established in June, 2011, pursuant to a decision by the Board of Trustees in May, and by consensus between the Board and the Assembly, representing faculty, staff, and students as well as Board members. The Search Committee consists of ten members (five trustees, two faculty members, two students, and one staff member), who have worked intensively and cooperatively with one another through email, phone, and in three face-to-face meetings. The position, to be filled as of July 1, 2012, was advertised in the Chronicle of Higher Education and on-line in July, with a priority consideration deadline for applications of September 15, 2011.
Over 60 people applied for the position, many of them with strong qualifications. With the help of an experienced search consultant, the Search Committee identified twelve candidates for intensive investigation, including videoconference interviews with nine, which took place in November. Three finalists were interviewed again by video-conference in December, and all three of these candidates have accepted invitations to interview on- campus between January 23 and 31 for intensive two-day visits, during which they will visit classes, meet with all major College constituencies (Board, Faculty, Staff, Students) and make public remarks. The final decision on selection will be made by the Board of Trustees at its normal February meeting, but only after the Shimer College Assembly has had extensive opportunities to consider and discuss the candidates, and after the Board has received the Assembly’s advice.
The three finalists are Dr. Susan Henking, Dr. MaryAnn Janosik, and Dr. Michael Marsden. All three finalists have extensive leadership experience in small liberal arts colleges. All three finalists also have strong reputations in their home institutions and elsewhere, as established by extensive due diligence interviews. In the video-conference interviews, all three candidates were thoughtful and articulate in discussing issues facing colleges such as Shimer. The Search Committee believes that these three finalists are all outstanding people and first-rate candidates for the Shimer presidency, and that the College is fortunate to have persuaded them to be serious candidates for this position.
It is public knowledge that Shimer’s last presidential search, in 2008-09, was not successful, since the candidate selected at that time was asked to resign by the Board after less than two years in office. The more recent search has been conducted both more systematically and in a more open way, without any last-minute candidacies. Every serious candidate was vetted carefully and reviewed in detail by the Committee in intensive discussions. The search process has been highly professional and confidentiality was maintained throughout, until the Search Committee released the names of the finalists publicly on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.
The Chair of the Search Committee is Robert O. Keohane (Shimer B.A. 1961), Professor of Public and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University. Professor Keohane, who is a political scientist, has taught at Swarthmore College, Stanford University, Brandeis University, Harvard University (where he was chair of the Government Department), and Duke University as well as at Princeton. His long-term marriage to Nannerl O. Keohane, former President of Wellesley College (1981-93) and Duke University (1993-2004), has made him familiar with best practices in this area.
Philip Farina, Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees, served on both the 2008-09 and 2011-12 search committees and comments on their processes as follows:
The Search Committee is confident that that its process, conducted with care and integrity, has yielded three very fine candidates for the presidency of Shimer College. But we recognize that other members of the Shimer community will make perceptive contributions to our collective understanding of how well these candidates fit the Shimer culture. We therefore value the advice of our colleagues on the Board and among the Faculty, Staff, and Students, and we look forward to the candidates’ visits and to engaging discussions of them, in the best Shimer spirit of open and honest inquiry.
Questions or comments about the Shimer Presidential Search may be directed to presidentialsearch@shimer.edu.
|
