Updates from the Search Committee
Presidential Search
By Bob Delaney ’79 and Linda Johnson ’80
May 23, 2023
Dear Hamilton Community Members,
We are writing to outline the next steps in the search to find Hamilton’s next president.
After considering multiple firms, we contracted late last week with the executive search firm Isaacson, Miller (IM) to assist us. IM has worked with Hamilton on a number of recent searches, including our new 2022 – 2023 vice presidents, Sean Bennett, Chris Card, and Ngoni Munemo. They also assisted us in the search that brought David Wippman to Hamilton in 2016. John Isaacson and Kate Barry will serve as the principles for this search. They will begin their work immediately to identify a qualified and diverse pool of candidates for consideration.
We are also moving ahead to identify the members of the search committee. As David Solomon reported last week, the selection will follow past practice and will be comprised of trustees, staff, faculty, and students. Our objective is to create a committee that is diverse, representative, and insightful about their role in recruiting Hamilton’s next president.
Student Assembly sent an email last Wednesday outlining the process by which students can nominate representatives to the committee. Those nominations were due by 5:00 pm on May 22, 2023. Once the nominees have agreed to serve, a ballot will be emailed to all rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors. The ballot will be available by 8:30 am on Friday, May 26 and must be completed by 5:00 pm on Sunday, May 28. The names of the top six vote getters will be forwarded to us for selection.
The process to identify the faculty representatives for the committee is similar. Academic Council will accept nominations for tenured and tenure-track faculty until 5 p.m. this Wednesday, May 24. Once those nominees have agreed to serve, a ballot will be distributed asking faculty to give their approval to each person on the ballot. We anticipate the ballot being open for online voting between noon on Tuesday, May 30, and 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 1. The names of the three tenured and three tenure-track professors who receive the most positive approval votes will be forwarded to us for selection.
There will be additional opportunities throughout the search process for the entire Hamilton community to provide input. IM will also host a series of listening sessions to gather input for the position profile that will be shared with potential candidates. You can also provide your thoughts directly to members of the committee and with Gill King (gking@hamilton.edu), secretary to the board and chief of staff, who is serving on the committee ex officio.
You can expect to hear from us regularly throughout the search process, including next month with the names of the people selected for the search committee. We are looking forward to working with and hearing from you and your representatives to select Hamilton’s next president. David Wippman has done a fantastic job leading Hamilton and this position will undoubtedly attract many qualified candidates.
Sincerely,
Bob Delaney ’79 and Linda Johnson ’80
Co-Chairs, Presidential Search Committee
