Arcadia Presidential Search: Overview of Stakeholder Meetings
The Presidential Search Committee met on Feb. 24 and would like to update the Arcadia community on the search process.
First, we would like to thank all who attended the day and evening stakeholder meetings on campus in January and February. Diversified Search met with more than 200 people during the two-week period on campus, hosting one-on-one meetings, facilitating phone conversations, and conducting open forums for faculty, staff, students, and alumni. In addition, Diversified Search spent time with the Student Government Organization, connecting with more than 35 student leaders.
Diversified Search focused on three areas:
The present: What makes Arcadia special?
The future: What can Arcadia become?
The candidate profile: Based upon responses from the first two questions, what kind of leader does Arcadia need its next President to be?
The participation of individuals across the member groups of faculty, staff, students, and alumni showed a true dedication to the process and provided valuable feedback for the Committee.
We focused the Committee’s meeting agenda to cover the following items:
- Identify the recurring themes from the forums
- Focus the themes into the Presidential position description
- Strategize a recruitment ad placement plan:
Chronicle of Higher Education
Chronicle of Philanthropy
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
- Create a search timeline: The Committee would like to continue with its aggressive timeline, with plans to begin reviewing applications in April.
The Committee members worked diligently alongside Diversified Search to filter the feedback and comments. Five themes emerged from the stakeholder meetings:
COMMUNITY: Arcadia is a special place with its emphasis on the liberal arts (with an applied orientation), global ethos, and depth in the health sciences. University community members genuinely care about one another and the institution, and most importantly, they are student-centric. There is heart, soul, humanity, and grit. The next President can capitalize on Arcadia’s greatest asset—its people.
TRUST: At this point in time, there were concerns about the level of trust between faculty and staff, and among faculty, staff, and the Board. The next President needs to be a bridge-builder, communicator, and active listener.
FINANCE: Many stakeholders cited Arcadia’s budget and infrastructure as areas the next President must address.
VISION: Stakeholders struggled answering question two (the Future), indicating the need for a visionary leader. The next President must craft a compelling and inspirational vision for the future. This is essential in regards to all of the stakeholders, especially alumni and current and prospective donors.
LEADERSHIP: Finally, many desire strong leadership. The next President must be an accomplished leader with the ability to motivate and energize people to work collaboratively toward a common goal.
Please continue to refer to the Presidential Search web portal for these important updates and to provide feedback or nominate a candidate
