Gustavus students, faculty, and staff,
My name is Marcia Page. I am a 1982 graduate of Gustavus and I am honored to serve as the Chair of the College’s Board of Trustees. As we prepare to launch the search for Gustavus Adolphus College’s 18th President, I write today to share information about the beginning of the search process and what you can expect as a member of the Gustavus community.
First, I would like to thank President Bergman for her continued leadership of the College through the next academic year. Her service through the upcoming search and transition to a new President will help ensure meaningful progress on the College’s strategic imperatives and continuity of operations across campus and beyond. The long lead time ahead of her retirement also provides our community with time and space to conduct a thorough search that will ultimately result in the successful hire of our next President.
The search and hiring process for the role of President is unique among positions in higher education in that the institution’s governing board (in our case, the Gustavus Board of Trustees) is responsible for leading and running the search. Our College Bylaws (see Article 3 and Article 6) name specific governance responsibilities that fall under the purview of the Board of Trustees, including the Presidential Search process.
I am pleased to share that Trustee Suzanne Boda ’82 has agreed to serve as the Chair of the Presidential Search Committee. A member of the Gustavus Board of Trustees since 2016, she recently retired as Senior Vice President at American Airlines after a 30-year career in the airline industry.
Our first step is to form the search committee, which will include representation from the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, and student body. Once formed, the Presidential Search Committee will be supported throughout the process by AGB Search consultants Loren Anderson and Shannon McCambridge and Assistant to the President and Board of Trustees JJ Akin ‘11.
Please mark your calendars for the week of May 6-10, when our search consultants will be on campus to host a series of listening sessions with student, faculty, and staff stakeholders that will help inform the position description, key priorities, and desired attributes of the College’s next President. The Search Committee will also hold its first meeting that week.
Suzanne Boda will send a message to the community next week with more information about the upcoming launch of the search process and details about the week of May 6-10. A Presidential Search website with updates and contact information for the Search Committee will be available soon.
Gusties, this is an exciting and important time in the life of the College. We have been blessed to have President Bergman’s strategic, thoughtful, and caring leadership for the last decade, and to have her continued support throughout the search and transition process over the course of the next year. I am confident that we will have a thorough and discerning search process that will lead us to the successful hire of Gustavus Adolphus College’s 18th President.
Sincerely,
Marcia Page ’82
Chair, Gustavus Adolphus College Board of Trustees