President named by Dec.

By Julie Jergenson
Undergraduate Representative, Presidential Search Committee

Each year brings change to the Saint Mary’s University community. This year, especially, the university must prepare for a new chapter in SMU history: the appointment of our next president.
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Since Brother Chancellor Louis DeThomasis, FSC, Ph.D., assumed the duties of president, members of the Presidential Search Committee have been hard at work developing a list of challenges and opportunities for the university as well as qualifications for SMU’s new leader.

Aiding in this task is Allen Koenig, Ph.D., of R.H. Perry and Associates, a search firm that will help to focus and refine the search. Many had the opportunity to meet with Koenig when he visited the campuses to collect community input for the search profile.

The search committee has appreciated the strong turnout at these public meetings, as the opinions provided the reinforcement needed to construct a strong profile that will attract an individual prepared to meet the needs of the SMU community.

There have been some questions from the community regarding the committee’s need to keep this search confidential. Some may recall that question and answer sessions with the finalists were held during the last search. The reason that the search committee has chosen to omit those sessions and to keep this search confidential is so that it will be able to find higher caliber best-suited for this position.

Candidates who are sitting presidents at other universities may be unwilling to apply if they believe that they will not be protected from backlash in their current community. The goal of the committee is to draw finalists from a large pool of possible candidates, and a confidential search is the only way to draw the most qualified people.

To give everyone an idea about how soon these events will all come to pass, here is the general timeline. In early November, the search committee will select semi-finalists from the candidate pool. By mid-November, these semi-finalists will have completed an interview process and the search committee will select the finalists. In December, the search committee and the Board of Trustees will interview the finalists again and, shortly after, the board will select the next president.

If all goes as planned, the next president will be announced before this Christmas and will assume the duties of the presidency in time for the 2008-09 academic year.

For more information and updates on the Presidential Search, please visit the Office of the President at www.smumn.edu.