RWU Presidential Search Update

Dear Members of the Roger Williams University Community,

On behalf of the Presidential Search Committee, we are pleased to provide this update on the discovery phase of our Presidential Search process.

With the assistance of our search consultants Isaacson, Miller (IM), in the weeks since posting the Presidential Profile, we have recruited a highly qualified and sought-after group of candidates. IM pro-actively recruited CV’s and resumes of current university presidents, provosts and deans, as well as leaders from outside of higher education, all of whom are successfully engaged in positions elsewhere, but see the opportunity to join RWU as President as a compelling one for which they wish to be considered.

As the first step in our process to evaluate each of these candidates, the Presidential Search Committee and IM met in early November to prioritize candidates for follow up. IM staff then conducted in depth video and in-person interviews with each candidate and assembled a full set of application documents for further review and evaluation by the committee. In early December, the IM team met again with the Presidential Search Committee for a complete review and discussion of each of the candidates and their application materials. At the conclusion of that meeting, the Presidential Search Committee selected a group of semi-finalist candidates that we are in the process of scheduling for in-person interviews.

As the fall semester nears its end, our committee work will continue in earnest over the break. In early January, we will conduct our interviews with the semi-finalists with the goal of identifying finalist candidates for lengthier in-person interviews by the end of the January. The Search Committee will be joined during the finalist interviews by additional members of the RWU community who will also adhere to our confidentiality agreement. These additional community members will assist us in evaluating the candidates and providing their own perspectives and feedback to the Presidential Search Committee as it develops its recommendation to the Board of Trustees. We look forward to providing you with more frequent updates as we progress through the selection process.
 
We send our best wishes for the Holiday Season to you, the great RWU community, who contribute so much to making RWU the outstanding institution it is.

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