Presidential Search Updates

RWU President Search Update - January 14, 2019

Dear Members of the Roger Williams University Community,

We are very pleased to provide this update on the progress of our Presidential Search. We have concluded the semi-finalist phase of our search process. Our work over the last month included reviewing and evaluating a host of qualified candidates, identifying those that we considered the best matches to our position profile, and narrowing those to eight candidates for advancement to semi-finalist interviews.

In conducting semi-finalist interviews last week, the Presidential Search Committee asked a uniform set of questions built around the institutional core values and priorities we heard throughout our listening sessions and online comments which were reflected in the Position Profile. Thus, our core questions to candidates prioritized diversity, inclusiveness and equity, as well as strategic visioning and implementation and fund raising experience. In addition, we prepared questions that were specifically tailored to each candidate based on their background.

At the conclusion of three days of robust semi-finalist interviews and evaluations, the Presidential Search Committee identified four candidates to participate as finalists. Those finalist interviews will be held at the end of this month.

Our Committee has dedicated time at every meeting to conversations and exercises designed to ensure an equitable search. And we are pleased that the make-up of our finalist pool represents a breadth of diverse backgrounds (traditional and non-traditional candidates) and diverse experiences (across gender, national origin, ethnicity, and disability).

As we committed to earlier in the process, a wider group of Roger Williams University faculty, administrative and senior staff, students, alumni and trustees is being invited to participate in this finalist phase of our search process. The Presidential Search Committee is excited to introduce this wider group of Roger Williams University community members and representatives to the diverse slate of candidates we have identified and to see the very exciting future pathways and opportunities they represent for Roger Williams University.

We are looking forward to concluding the search in the coming weeks and announcing the Trustees’ appointment of the 11th President of Roger Williams University. In the meantime, as you know, all of the Presidential Search Committee members, as well as the additional members of the campus community that will participate in the finalist round are bound by the terms of the confidentiality agreement that governs our process. Accordingly, they are not at liberty to discuss the process. We deeply appreciate the respect that all have given to the confidential nature of our search process.

Sincerely,
Timothy Baxter Co-Chair of the Presidential Search Committee
Chair of the Board of Trustees

Jerrold Lavine Co-Chair of the Presidential Search Committee
Treasurer, Member of the Board of Trustees

Marcia Morris Co- Chair of the Presidential Search Committee
Vice Chair of Board of Trustees

Presidential Search Updates