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North Central College Presidential Search Committee

September 1, 2022
 

Dear North Central College Campus Community,

I am writing to provide an update regarding our shared efforts to identify the eleventh president of North Central College.

An inclusive Presidential Search Committee composed of 19 members has been appointed to represent the College’s multiple constituencies, including trustees, faculty, staff, students, and alumni/ae. Thank you for your participation in the process of nominating representatives for the Committee, which is listed below.
 

North Central College Presidential Search Committee

Dr. Kathy Birkett, Trustee
Chair of the Presidential Search Committee

Andrea Beck ’97, Trustee

Dr. Mara Berkland
Professor of Communication; Coordinator of Middle Eastern & North African Studies

Erin Bishop ’93, Trustee

Pauline Bogdan, ’24
President, Student Governing Association

Jessica Brown
Vice President for Student Affairs and Athletics

Ashley Chubirka M’11
Senior Associate Director of Admission

Jon DeSouza ’98, Trustee

Dr. David Gray
Professor of Accounting; Chairperson, Department of Accounting

Kris Hartner, Trustee

InSun Ho ’81, Trustee

Mike Hudson
Vice President for Operations

Ray Kinney H’10, Trustee

Tracie Morris ’02, Trustee

Lisa Pettaway ’94, M’00
Director of Leadership Annual Giving

Dr. Sara Scholtes
Professor and Chair, Department of Physical Therapy; Founding Director, Doctor of Physical Therapy Program

Ali Setork, Trustee

Dr. Jennifer Smith, 
Associate Professor of English; Chair, Department of English; Director of the Writing Center

Lee Woolley ’85, Trustee

Presidential Search Committee Support

Kimberly Salzbrunn
Executive Support, Executive Assistant to the President and the Board of Trustees

Jim Godo ’93
Vice President for Communications and Strategic Initiatives, and Special Assistant to the President
Ex-officio

Mike Naset, Trustee
Ex-officio


As was previously shared, Storbeck Search, a nationally known and highly respected executive search firm, has been retained to assist the College in the search. Julie Tea, Managing Director, and Kate Phillips, Senior Associate, are facilitating the search process, working with the search committee to identify candidates for President and assisting the committee in making its recommendations to the Board of Trustees. Ms. Tea has prior experience with North Central, recently aiding the College with the Vice President for Student Affairs and Athletics search.

Our consulting team will meet with the search committee in mid-September for its inaugural meeting during which the group will receive its charge from the Chair of the Board of Trustees, discuss operating procedures, and finalize the timeline for the search.

The Storbeck Search team will visit North Central College September 19-20 to conduct its site visit. The consultants will be seeking your thoughts on the challenges and opportunities for new leadership and the skill sets and personal attributes you see as most important for our next president to possess. You will soon receive additional details regarding the campus forums.

We have also created an electronic stakeholder survey, which is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NCCPresidentialStakeholderSurvey. Please feel free to access the link and complete the survey through Friday, September 23. Please also share the link with others who have an interest in the College’s future.

Thank you in advance for your willingness to participate in these important exchanges about North Central’s next chapter. We are eager to hear your perspectives.

Once our consultants have gathered information from across the campus and via the survey, our consulting team will then compile a draft of the search prospectus, an important document that will describe the College as well as the leadership agenda for the next president. Our consultants will share it with the search committee for editing and revision before it is distributed to the College community and beyond to garner nominations and expressions of interest.

The plan is for the Board of Trustees to elect a president in the early months of 2023. The next President is expected to assume office in the summer of 2023.

The process is off to a good start. I will share additional information with you as we enter subsequent stages of the process. Future updates will also be posted to the forthcoming Presidential Search Website.

Thank you for your support. Please feel free to contact me at presidentialsearch@noctrl.edu with any questions related to the presidential search.

Regards,

Dr. Kathy Birkett
Trustee
Chair, Presidential Search Committee