Dear Luther College Colleagues,
The process to identify and call the next President of Luther College has proceeded on-track over the summer. We completed a robust assessment of the external environment, sought input from a variety of stakeholders, interviewed potential search consultants/firms and defined the structure of the presidential search committee.
We are very pleased to announce we have retained Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, a nationally known and highly respected higher education executive search firm, to work with the presidential search committee and the Board of Regents. Julie E. Tea, a partner, and Kenna Boyd, an associate, with Storbeck/Pimentel will facilitate our process and assist the search committee in developing and making its recommendation to the Board of Regents.
Julie and her colleagues from Storbeck/Pimentel will visit Luther the week of September 10 to meet with representatives from a variety of campus groups. These conversations are designed to listen and understand the variety of thoughts and perspectives on the future needs of Luther College, as well as the skill sets and personal attributes which will be important for our next president.
For those who are unable to meet with the search consultants during their campus visit in September, as well as for alumni and others who have an interest in the future of Luther College, an electronic stakeholder survey will be available at a Luther College presidential search website which is under development. In our next update, we will provide information on how to access this survey and the date by which the survey must be completed.
During the next two weeks, we will finalize the composition of the presidential search committee, whose members will represent the Board of Regents, faculty, staff, students, alumni/ae and the Decorah community.
With the information gathered from campus discussions and the electronic survey, our search consultants, in collaboration with the search committee, will prepare a presidential search prospectus that describes Luther College and the leadership profile and agenda for our next president. This prospectus will be distributed to the College community and utilized by Storbeck/Pimentel to garner nominations and expressions of interest from potential candidates.
We are targeting completion of the presidential search process and election by the Board of Regents in the first quarter of 2019, with the next president assuming the office in the summer of 2019.
We will continue to share updates with you as we enter each subsequent stage of the search process, including an update during the Luther College Service of Dedication Thursday, Aug. 23. Future updates also will be posted on the forthcoming presidential search website.
Thank you for your continued support and participation in these important exchanges about the future of Luther College. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and perspectives.
Please feel free to contact us at [email protected] with any questions.
Soli Deo Gloria
Bob Paulson, ‘78, Board Vice Chair; Chair, Presidential Search Committee
Wendy Davidson, ‘92, Board Chair