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Updates

Presidential Search Finalists

February 27, 2012

From Kenneth Roering, Chair of the Presidential Search Committee

I am very pleased to inform the Saint John's University community that our presidential search is well under way.  I am writing to provide you with an update on the progress made since my last report to you a few weeks ago.

As you know from previous reports of the Presidential Search Committee, the final phase of our recruitment effort for the next President of Saint John's includes an invitation to the finalist candidates to visit campus. We are close to finalizing our schedules for campus visits and at the bottom of this memo you will find a schedule of the events open to the campus community. We will provide the community with the name and resume for each of our three finalist candidates along with the specific schedule for each of their campus visits two days prior to each candidate's visit. There are opportunities for various University constituent groups to meet with each of the candidates and we encourage all interested members of the campus community to participate where possible.

Please note that we have scheduled campus visits as follows:

• Candidate 1 -  March 12 - 13
• Candidate 2 -  March 15 - 16
• Candidate 3 -  March 21 - 22

The purposes of these campus visits are two-fold.  First, they will enable us to know the candidates better.  Second, and perhaps more important, the visits will allow the candidates to become further acquainted with the Saint John's University community.

Throughout the search process, the committee has pledged to protect the identity of the candidates. While we can no longer promise complete confidentiality to these finalists as they present themselves on campus, we urge you to bear in mind that each of them holds a significant position elsewhere. Members of the campus community are asked to not make personal inquiries about them outside of Saint John's, but rather to communicate comments, questions, or concerns to the chair of the Search Committee.

In addition to the Search Committee's preliminary interviews with these candidates, we have had conversations with individuals who have worked with them and know them well. There is agreement within the Search Committee that these candidates are capable of providing effective leadership for Saint John's University.

Following the campus visits, those of you who participated in the interview(s) will be asked to complete an on-line response form that will allow Academic Search to capture your feedback on each of the candidates.  This information will be tabulated and shared with both the Search Committee and the Board of Regents as they deliberate on both the strengths and limitations of each candidate.

We are pleased with the progress of the search and look forward to this final phase.  We anticipate that the Board of Regents will make its selection of the next Saint John's president shortly after the finalists' visits.

If you have any questions or concerns about this final phase of the search, please contact me at kroering@umn.edu. 

Thank you for your continuing support and assistance.

Candidate # 1 - March 12-13

• Faculty Forum #1 - March 12, 3:30-4:30 (Alumni Lounge)
• Faculty Forum #2 - March 13, 10:30-11:30 (Alumni Lounge)
• Faculty Senate - March 12, 10:30-11:15 (TBD)
• Administrative & Support Staff Forum - March 13, 9:15-10:15 (Alumni Lounge)
• Student Forum - March 12, 5:00-6:00 (Pellegrene Auditorium)
• Community Forum (open to all) - March 13, 1:00-2:00 (Alumni Lounge)
• Community Reception (open to all) - March 13, 2:00-3:15 (Great Hall)

Candidate # 2 - March 15-16

• Faculty Forum #1 - March 15, 3:30-4:30 (Pellegrene Auditorium)
• Faculty Forum #2 - March 16, 10:30-11:30 (Quad 264)
• Faculty Senate - March 15, 10:30-11:15 (TBD)
• Administrative & Support Staff Forum - March 16, 9:15-10:15 (Quad 264)
• Student Forum - March 15, 5:00-6:00 (Pellegrene Auditorium)
• Community Forum (open to all) - March 16, 1:00-2:00 (Quad 264)
• Community Reception (open to all) - March 16, 2:00-3:15 (Great Hall)

Candidate # 3 - March 21-22

• Faculty Forum #1 - March 21, 3:30-4:30 (Pellegrene Auditorium)
• Faculty Forum #2 - March 22, 10:45-11:45 (Quad 264)
• Faculty Senate - March 22, 8:45-9:30 (TBD)
• Administrative & Support Staff Forum - March 22, 9:45-10:45 (Quad 264)
• Student Forum - March 21, 5:00-6:00 (Pellegrene Auditorium)
• Community Forum (open to all) - March 22, 1:00-2:00 (Quad 264)
• Community Reception (open to all) - March 22, 2:00-3:15 (Great Hall)

Third Update on the Search for the Next President at Saint John's University

February 8, 2012

From Kenneth Roering, Chair of the Presidential Search Committee

The Search Committee has completed reference checks on a small group of applicants and has further reduced the pool of candidates (semi-finalists) for ongoing consideration.  The semi-finalists have been invited to interview with the Search Committee at an off-site location in Minneapolis in the middle of February. Each candidate will be interviewed for 1.5-2.0 hours and at the conclusion of the interviews, the Search Committee will select 2 - 3 finalist candidates. The finalist candidates will be invited to campus in late February or early March to meet with all campus constituent groups. We are in the process of organizing campus visits and will provide the Saint John's community with a schedule for each of the finalist as soon as possible.

If you have any questions, please direct those to me.  I will treat any information you provide as confidential.

Thank you for your interest and support.

Dr. Kenneth Roering
Chair of the Search Committee
Member, Board of Regents
kroering@umn.edu

Second Update on the Search for the Next President at Saint John's University

January 20, 2012

From Kenneth Roering, Chair of the Presidential Search Committee

The Presidential search is moving along well, and we are writing to brief you on our progress. 

The Search Committee had reduced the applicant pool to a smaller group of candidates whose background and experience ­seem especially consistent with the qualities and qualifications for the President as established for the search. Our Search Committee members and our search consultants will check the references of these candidates. We will then select a smaller number of candidates whom we will invite to confidential preliminary interviews with the Search Committee in mid February at an off-campus location.  On completion of that round of interviews, the Committee will select candidates to participate in more extensive on-campus interviews with a broad range of campus constituents.  We will schedule on-campus visits for our finalists and will notify you of the specific dates and times of these visits as soon as they are scheduled.

The Committee will continue to stay in touch with you throughout the process, and we welcome your comments and questions at any time.  We are very pleased with the quality of the candidate pool and have every reason to believe that our search will come to a successful conclusion.  If you have any questions, please direct those to me or you may contact our search consultants, Jackie Doud and Maya Kirkhope. We will treat any information you provide as confidential.

Thank you for your interest and support.

Dr. Kenneth Roering
Chair of the Search Committee
Member, Board of Regents
kroering@umn.edu

First Update on the Search for the Next President at Saint John's University

December 6, 2011

From Kenneth Roering, Chair of the Presidential Search Committee

We are pleased to provide the Saint John's community with an update of the Presidential Search Committee's efforts to date.

The seventeen-member search committee has met several times by telephone and in- person prior to and subsequent hiring  our search consultants, Dr. Jacqueline Doud and Maya Ranchod Kirkhope of Academic Search, Inc. As many of you know, Jackie and Maya visited campus in November 2011 and met with board members, senior administrators, faculty, staff, members of the religious community, alumni and students during their time here. Many thanks to those individuals who were able to meet with Jackie and Maya to provide them with constructive and informative insights about the opportunities for Saint John's next president. 

The Search Committee, in conjunction with Jackie and Maya, has developed some key guidelines for our search  process and agreed on  a preliminary timeline.  The first important step, based on research from Jackie's and Maya's campus visit, is a position profile which is being posted on the website today.  The job ad is being posted in a number of national publications including the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Education, the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, and Hispanic Outlook.

We urge you to suggest people you know who could serve effectively as our next president or those who might recommend potential candidates.  Please complete the confidential on-line nomination form on this website or forward name(s) to our consultants. The success of our search will depend on the involvement, support, and interest of all members of the Saint John's community.

Jackie and Maya have begun to work on generating a robust candidate pool. In addition to posting the job ad in key publications, they will reach out to a broad network of contacts and follow up on nominations submitted by you and other members of the higher-education community. The search committee will begin to review applications in early January and expects by late January to identify a small group of candidates whose competencies and expertise best align with our needs.  The committee plans to conduct neutral-site interviews in early February, and plans to invite finalists to campus in mid to late February.  We expect the successful candidate to assume office during the summer of 2012.

You will receive another update on the Presidential search in a few weeks. Thank you for your continued interest and support.

Dr. Kenneth Roering
Chair of the Search Committee
Member, Board of Regents
kroering@umn.edu

Letter from Ann Huntrods and Ken Roering

October 24, 2011

To the Saint John's Abbey and University Communities:

In a letter dated September 16 to the Saint John's Abbey and University communities you were provided with initial information about the Saint John's presidential search.  The letter noted that the Chair of the Board of Regents would be appointing a search committee, that a search consultant would be employed, and that an open national search would be conducted, with the goal of completing the search by March of 2012, if possible.  In addition, the letter noted that we seek a President who can ensure the ongoing Catholic and Benedictine character, mission, and identity of the University; and, therefore, the successful candidate will be a Catholic and either be a Benedictine or have a deep appreciation of Benedictine values.

The SJU Presidential Search Committee roster is now complete and includes representatives from many of our constituencies.  The list of members is attached at the bottom of this letter.  We are deeply grateful to the individuals who have accepted this role and will be committing significant time and energy to this vitally important task.

In the last weeks a number of potential search firms were contacted.  The Search Committee interviewed three consulting firms and a total of five consultants.  We have selected the search team of Dr. Jacqueline Powers Doud and Ms. Maya Ranchod Kirkhope from Academic Search.  Both are well versed in the Catholic ethos and have knowledge of the Benedictine heritage of our school. Bios for Dr. Doud and Ms. Kirkhope can be found at http://www.academic-search.com/our-team/consultants/.  We expect that Dr. Doud and Ms. Kirkhope will be on the Saint John's campus for a few days in early to mid-November to meet with selected members of our academic and monastics communities.  The purpose of their visit will be to learn more about our community and what we seek in a president.  What they learn will be important in developing a presidential profile that can be used in our search.

We anticipate that the profile will be complete by the end of November. This profile will be shared when it is complete.  We seek your help in identifying strong candidates that fit this profile once it is complete.  The months following will be taken up by an extensive process to identify and select candidates for interviews in the late winter/early spring.  You will be notified early in December of other steps in the search process and their timing.  Thank you for your interest and support of this important process.

Sincerely,

SJU Presidential Search Committee

Letter from Ann Huntrods and Abbot John Klassen, OSB

September 9, 2011

To the Saint John's Abbey and University Communities:

As you all know, Father Robert Koopmann has decided not to seek another term as President of the University when his current term expires at the end of June, 2012.  Under the procedures of the University, the chair of the Board of Regents coordinates presidential searches and the Abbot nominates a candidate for President to the University Regents for their approval.  The Board of Regents has agreed generally on a process for the search.  The key qualifications to meet the current and long term needs of the University will be developed as the search proceeds.

As Chair of the Board of Regents, I (Ann Huntrods) have recently appointed a search committee, which will have Ken Roering, a current Regent and 1964 graduate of Saint John's as its chair.  The two of us, as well as others from our larger Saint John's community, will serve on this committee.  The Search Committee will employ a search consultant and together they will create a job profile which will embody the qualifications developed by the Committee.

An open national search will be conducted, a decision that has the endorsement of the Abbey's Senior Council.  A critical criterion will be that the candidate be a Benedictine or have a deep appreciation of Benedictine values; an additional criterion is that the candidate be a Catholic.  The Committee will seek a new President who can ensure the ongoing Catholic and Benedictine character, mission, and identity of the University.  In the process of selecting a president, the Regents commit to encourage and promote qualified monks of Saint John's Abbey as candidates, as well as qualified monks of other Benedictine monasteries.  The Regents recognize and accept the preference for having a qualified Benedictine monk serve as president and commit to selecting as president of Saint John's University a qualified Catholic who understands, appreciates and will ensure the Catholic, Benedictine character, mission, and identity of the university.

We expect the search to be completed before the Regents meeting scheduled for March 1, 2012 so that the candidate can be considered by the Board of Regents at that time.  If approved, the candidate will take office on the completion of Father Bob's term.

Sincerely,