Update for faculty, students, staff, alumni, and the community-at-large.

The Georgetown College Presidential Search Committee has received notice that two current candidates for the Presidency, Jim Newberry and Jason Rogers, have withdrawn from further consideration for personal and professional reasons.

As a result, the Committee voted today (May 9, 2013) to renew the search immediately with a second round of confidential interviews with leading existing applicants and, hopefully, schedule future campus visits as soon as possible.

The Committee remains very committed to a high-integrity process which will assure a strong, well-qualified leader for Georgetown College, one who has a strong consensus of support from the overall college community, and one who can further enhance the college’s outstanding reputation of high-quality programs and exceptional academics in a Christian environment.

The Committee would like to thank all those individuals that participated in the interview process for the first round of review and asks for future cooperation as the selection process continues. The desire is to maintain the balanced confidential/open process and the Committee will do everything within its power to protect confidential information and the well-being of persons that have pursued or will pursue the position.

Future updates on the Presidential Search progress will be provided in the weeks ahead.

William J. Houston, Chair
Presidential Search Committee
Georgetown College

Update 4/25/13, 5 PM: It has become necessary to change the previously announced location for next week’s sessions with the three presidential search finalists. Please note that all forums will now be held in John L. Hill Chapel.

We are pleased to offer students, faculty, staff, alumni, and members of the community-at-large the opportunity to meet next week with the three finalists for the presidency of Georgetown College. It is hoped you will utilize it to learn each candidate’s vision of leadership. Provisions will be made for you to offer feedback to the presidential search committee.

Please refer to the schedule below and attend only your designated forum. However, any and all, including alumni, community members, and others, are welcome to attend the 3:30 p.m. open forum.

Monday, April 29 – Jason Rogers
Wednesday, May 1 – Jim Newberry
Thursday, May 2 – Cheryl Kimberling

CAMPUS VISITATION SCHEDULE

• 8:00 a.m.
  Breakfast with board chair – Colbert Room, Cralle Student Center
• 9:00 a.m.
  Meet with President’s Cabinet – Corts Room, 2^nd Floor, Giddings Hall
• 10:00 a.m.
  Faculty Forum I – John L. Hill Chapel
• 11:00 a.m.
  Staff Forum (All staff invited) – John L. Hill Chapel
• Noon
  Lunch with Faculty Leadership – Arnett Room, Ensor LRC
• 1:00 p.m.
  Student Forum – John L. Hill Chapel
• 2:00 p.m.
  Faculty Forum II – John L. Hill Chapel
• 3:00 p.m.
  Break
• 3:30-5:00
  Open Forum with formal presentation on Future of the College
  (20 minute comments on trends in higher education and GC).
  Alumni and Community Leaders are encouraged to attend this session.
  John L. Hill Chapel

Georgetown, Ky. – The twelve-member search committee made up of representatives from the Georgetown College board of trustees, faculty, staff, alumni, parents council, and student body is pleased to have selected three candidates from which a possible successor to retiring president William H. Crouch, Jr. may be named.

The finalists announced today by William J. Houston, search committee chair, are:

Cheryl Kimberling, president, Multicultural Alliance, Fort Worth, Texas;

Jim Newberry, vice-president and general counsel, Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY; and,

Jason Rogers, vice president for administration and university counsel, Belmont University, Nashville, TN.

The search committee has unanimously selected these candidates who will meet on campus in the next week with trustees, faculty, staff, alumni, students, and community members. A visit schedule will be announced soon.

Following feedback from these groups, a search committee recommendation will be made to the board of trustees which will then potentially select the 24^th president of Georgetown College.

With roots dating to 1787, Georgetown College is a Christian liberal arts college with an ongoing affiliation with the Kentucky Baptist Convention.

For additional information:

Jim Allison
502-863-7922
jim_allison@georgetowncollege.edu

Dear Georgetown Community,

The Presidential Search Committee is continuing its work to identify the next President of Georgetown College. We appreciate so much your prayers and encouragement as we seek God’s direction in choosing a leader for the school we all love.

The committee published very detailed and specific criteria for the next President of Georgetown. The prospectus, which is on the website, gave a clear and accurate description of the College including the challenges and opportunities before us. The prospectus also narrowly defined the attributes approved by the committee and trustees for candidates to consider when determining their interest in applying for the position.

On Monday, March 25th, the search committee began a screening process for more than 60 candidates who felt they met the characteristics and attributes we published. Candidates may continue to apply for the post, but the committee selected twelve in order to start referencing those chosen. In a few weeks, the committee will narrow the group of applicants to approximately eight who will be invited to confidential off campus interviews.

After further narrowing the field, the committee hopes to bring three finalists to open campus interviews. All campus constituencies will be able to interact with candidates and provide feedback to the search committee through an electronic survey instrument.

If, at the end of these interviews, we believe a suitable presidential candidate has been found, the committee plans to recommend him or her to the Board for consideration of election.

We appreciate your understanding the sensitive and confidential nature of this process. Our sincere desire is to keep you informed while protecting our applicants, some of who may put their current position in jeopardy by agreeing to talk with us. As always, we respectfully ask for your continued prayers for our committee, the candidates, and our college. It is a great honor to serve you in this capacity.

On behalf of the Presidential Search Committee,

William J. (BI) Houston, Chair Presidential Search Committee

Dear Georgetown Community,

Your Presidential Search Committee continues to work hard in seeking the next president for Georgetown College. We appreciate so much your prayers and encouragement as we seek God’s direction in choosing a leader for the school we all love.

The committee published very detailed and specific criteria for the next President of Georgetown. The prospectus, which is on the website, gave a clear and accurate description of the College including the challenges and opportunities before us. The prospectus also narrowly defined the attributes approved by the committee and trustees for candidates to consider when determining their interest in applying for the position.

On Monday, March 25th, the search committee began a screening process for more than 50 candidates who felt they met the characteristics and attributes we published. Candidates may continue to apply for the post, but the committee selected twelve in order to start referencing those chosen. In a few weeks, the committee will narrow the group of applicants to approximately eight who will be invited to confidential off campus interviews.

After further narrowing the field, the committee hopes to bring three finalists to open campus interviews. All campus constituencies will be able to interact with candidates and provide feedback to the search committee through an electronic survey instrument.

If, at the end of these interviews, we believe a suitable presidential candidate has been found, the committee plans to recommend him or her to the Board for consideration of election.

We appreciate your understanding the sensitive and confidential nature of this process. Our sincere desire is to keep you informed while protecting our applicants, some of whom may put their current position in jeopardy by agreeing to talk to us. As always, we respectfully ask for your continued prayers for our committee, the candidates, and our college. It is a great honor to serve you in this capacity.

Sincerely,

William J. Houston
Presidential Search Committee Chair

Dear Georgetown Family,

As we enter the new year, your Presidential Search Committee continues to work diligently to identify the next president of Georgetown College.  We appreciate your prayers, and the encouragement from many of you in the last several weeks.

After considering several well-qualified executive search firms, we engaged the services of AGB Search.  Founded by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, AGB Search works exclusively in the field of higher education.  They have a strong track record of helping schools like ours recruit and identify presidents, provosts, and deans.  In the last three years, they have conducted more than 100 successful searches.

We will be working with Dr. James Davis.  Before he began his work for AGB Search, Dr. Davis served as president of Shenandoah University in Virginia for 26 years and retired in 2008.  This tenure provides him with familiarity with the challenges Georgetown faces in seeking a new leader after 21 years of Dr. Crouch’s leadership.  In addition, Shenandoah’s affiliation with the United Methodist Church gives Dr. Davis insight into the needs of a Christian college.

Our next step as a committee is to identify characteristics we are seeking in the next president of Georgetown College.  The feedback we have already received from students, faculty, staff, and alumni will be a great help in developing this profile.  Dr. Davis will be meeting with members of the campus community in order to gather the information he needs to lead us through this process.

Finally, if you would like to nominate a candidate, please send the information or have the candidate contact Dr. Davis at jdavis@agbsearch.com.

Please continue to pray for our committee and for Dr. Davis as we work together.  Pray also for potential candidates who will emerge and for the entire Georgetown College community.

On behalf of the Presidential Search Committee,

William J. (BI) Houston, Chair, Presidential Search Committee

Dear Georgetown Family,

The Presidential Search Committee has officially begun the process of identifying the next president of Georgetown College. The Committee consists of Pastor Richard Gaines, Trustee; Frank Penn (’68), Trustee; Brian Evans, VP and Athletic Director; Melanie Ladd (’94), Georgetown Alumni Board; Molly Shoulta (’13), Past President of Student Government; Yolanda Carter, Dean of Education; Harold Tallant, Chair of the Faculty; Pastor Greg Barr (’86), Trustee; Guthrie True (’81), Trustee; Randall Fox (‘60) Trustee; Holly Bartlett, Parent; and Bill (BI) Houston, Vice Chair Board of Trustees and Chair Presidential Search Committee.

The committee has begun its work and established a regular meeting schedule. Initial steps include hosting listening sessions with faculty, students and staff to solicit input on characteristics they are looking for in the next President of the college. We have also heard from over 150 alums. As you would imagine, expectations are high and they should be. Input gathered from these groups is being synthesized into a working document that will be used to identify and attract prospective candidates. We will share this with you as soon as practical.

We have decided to engage a professional search firm to assist in the identification and recruiting of eligible candidates. After considering several strong firms, we have decided to interview three; all with solid track records of successfully helping colleges and universities select leadership for senior positions including presidents. We expect to select a firm by early December 2012.

While we will do everything possible to keep the Georgetown Community informed and updated on the process, we know a level of confidentiality is required to protect candidates. The likely candidates are currently working for other institutions and disclosure of their interest could jeopardize their positions. We understand the desire for openness and transparency in the process and will respect that within the limitation of the candidates being interviewed.

We covet your prayers for the committee, the prospective candidates and the College as a whole.

On behalf of the Presidential Search Committee,

William J. (BI) Houston, Chair Presidential Search Committee.

Georgetown, KY – A committee that will recruit and recommend the 24th president of Georgetown College has been selected and will meet soon to determine the next steps in the search. It will report to the College’s trustees no later than January the process to be followed for identifying and selecting a replacement for William H. Crouch, Jr., who is retiring June 30, 2013.

The presidential search committee is being led by William J. Houston, former chair of the College’s board of trustees who now serves as board vice-chair. Other members of the committee representing a cross-section of alumni, faculty, students and staff are Holly Bartlett, Parents’ Advisory Council; Rev. Greg Barr ’86, Trustee; Dr. Yoli Carter, Dean of Education; Brian Evans, Vice President for Diversity and Athletic Director; Randy Fox ‘60, Trustee; Rev. Richard Gaines, Trustee; Melanie Ladd ’94, Alumni Advisory Board; Frank Penn ‘68, Trustee; Molly Shoulta, class of 2013, former Student Government Association President; Dr. Harold Tallant, Chair, Faculty Committee; and J. Guthrie True ’82, Trustee, and a former board chair.

In its charge to the presidential search committee, the board, by unanimous vote, emphasized by resolution the desire of the trustees to find a president who has a strong commitment to the Christian faith and academic freedom. The resolution stated: “Since its charter in 1829, Georgetown College has been focused on providing an excellent education built upon a solid foundation of Christian principles. As a board of trustees, we are committed to continuing that tradition. We direct the presidential search team to find a person of strong Christian faith; an effective leader who will maintain Georgetown’s commitment to faith and academic integrity and freedom.”

More information about the presidential search process with regular updates provided as warranted will be available on the College’s web site at http://www.georgetowncollege.edu.

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Contact:
H.K. Kingkade
502-863-8209
HK_Kingkade@georgetowncollege.edu