The 2015-16 Presidential Search Advisory Committee is charged with identifying and recommending to the Board of Visitors candidates for selection as the tenth president of the University of Mary Washington.

UMW Presidential Search Recap

The UMW presidential search was launched in May 2015 with the appointment of the nineteen-member Presidential Search Advisory Committee (PSAC).  This committee was constituted to ensure broad representation from throughout the UMW community.  It was chaired by the Rector and included five additional members of the Board of Visitors.  It also included UMW faculty and staff, as well as student, alumni, and UMW Foundation representatives.  Ron Forehand, Senior Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Education Section, served as legal counsel for the search. PSAC received proposals from a number of executive search firms, held two rounds of interviews with representatives of those firms, and selected Baker and Associates LLC to assist with the UMW search.  Martin Baker, Senior Vice President, served as the principal on the search. In July, PSAC members received training from the Attorney General’s Office on confidentiality and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  In … [Read more...]

Stakeholder Advisory Group Named for UMW Presidential Search

As an important part of the hybrid search model adopted for the UMW Presidential Search, Rector Holly T. Cuellar ’89 has appointed the following individuals to serve as the expanded Stakeholder Advisory Group.  The role of the Stakeholder Advisory Group is to interview semifinalist candidates and offer feedback to the Presidential Search Advisory Committee.  The Presidential Search Advisory Committee will then forward finalists to the Board of Visitors.  Ultimately, it is the Board of Visitors as a whole that has the responsibility to appoint the president. The search process remains highly confidential.  The Stakeholder Advisory Group has received confidentiality and Freedom of Information Act training by Ronald C. Forehand, Senior Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Education Section, who is the designated Virginia official for presidential searches.  Each member of the group has signed a confidentiality agreement.  Interviews will be held within the next fifteen days, at … [Read more...]

Presidential Search Advisory Committee Discusses Candidates

The Presidential Search Advisory Committee met on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 4 p.m. in a closed meeting to discuss prospective candidates for the presidency. The committee remained in closed meeting until shortly after 11 p.m., when it reentered open meeting.  The committee then briefly discussed the next steps in the search process, including the format for interviews that will be held at an undisclosed time and location, as permitted by Virginia law. The search process is highly confidential at this stage, primarily to protect the identities of any candidates and thereby ensure the strongest possible pool of candidates for consideration. The draft meeting minutes will be posted within 10 days on the presidential search website at http://president.umw.edu/search/meetings/. … [Read more...]

Presidential Search Advisory Committee Signs Confidentiality Agreement

Members of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee have signed a Confidentiality Agreement, a copy of which is attached.  This agreement was prepared jointly by Ronald Forehand, Senior Assistant Attorney General and Education Section Chief, and Martin Baker, principal of Baker and Associates LLC. The confidentiality agreement is designed to generate the strongest possible pool of candidates for the UMW presidency by ensuring that the identities of candidates are not revealed publicly.  Because this search will be utilizing a “hybrid” search model, this agreement will also be required of any individuals outside the Presidential Search Advisory Committee or the Board of Visitors who might be invited to meet finalist candidates during the latter stages of the search process.  The signed confidentiality agreements are maintained by the Clerk of the Board of Visitors. … [Read more...]

UMW Releases Presidential Leadership Statement

The University of Mary Washington recently released the Presidential Leadership Statement that will be used in the search for the University’s 10th president. Used to recruit candidates for the presidency, the leadership statement is the result of a culmination of feedback provided by students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members, all stakeholders deeply invested in the success of UMW’s next leader. … [Read more...]

Presidential Leadership Statement Finalized

Dear Members of the University Community, On behalf of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee and Board of Visitors, I am proud to share the Presidential Leadership Statement that will be used to cultivate the pool of candidates for the next president of Mary Washington. The feedback from the open forums on campus at the end of August and the online stakeholder input forms, along with input from the committee and Board of Visitors, was used to create the document.  Mr. Martin Baker of Baker and Associates LLC did an excellent job in facilitating the conversation at the forums and capturing the voice of our university community throughout the document.  I am grateful to each of you who participated in the process. The presidential search website will continue to update the university committee on the search process and can be located at:  http://president.umw.edu/search/ Sincerely, Holly T. Cuellar ‘89 Chair, Presidential Search Advisory Committee Rector, Board of … [Read more...]

Announcement of a Hybrid Search Model

The Presidential Search Advisory Committee and the Board of Visitors have made the decision to use a hybrid search model for the UMW Presidential search.  This model increases the probability of having sitting Presidents or other high-profile individuals in the candidate pool, while still allowing participation by various stakeholders outside of the Committee and the Board in a controlled and confidential environment.  There will be no public announcement of the finalists.  The hybrid search will ensure the confidentiality necessary to attract the strongest possible applicants for the position, while also allowing a limited number of additional stakeholders to confidentially meet the finalists. … [Read more...]

Open Forum Meetings to Discuss the Presidential Search

To Members of the UMW Community, As you know, President Rick Hurley has announced his intention to retire June 30, 2016.  The Board of Visitors has launched a national search for our next president and, as Rector, I have appointed a broad-based Presidential Search Advisory Committee to assist the Board in the search.  We have selected the executive search firm, Baker and Associates LLC, to support our work in this important endeavor. I am writing to inform all members of the UMW community that Martin Baker and Matthew Cullinan, representatives from the search firm, will be at UMW August 25-27.  They will hold a series of open forums to gather input from stakeholders.  Mr. Baker and Dr. Cullinan will be seeking your thoughts about the characteristics and background needed in our next president, as well as the challenges and opportunities ahead for the new president who will be leading UMW forward.  The information gathered through this process will inform the leadership profile to … [Read more...]

Committee Holds First Meeting with Baker and Associates

The Presidential Search Advisory Committee held an open meeting on Tuesday, July 21 for its initial discussions with representatives of Baker and Associates. Senior Vice President Martin Baker and Vice President Matthew Cullinan from Baker and Associates were both present for the conversations. The meeting started with an overview of the search process including best practices, discussion of types of search models and a generic timeline for the search. The committee also spent time reflecting on UMW’s previous presidential searches in an effort to identify key lessons and opportunities for the next search. The meeting concluded with a brainstorm of potential qualities, background, and experience to seek in the next president. The committee has begun planning for Baker and Associates representatives to return to UMW on August 25-27, 2015 to hold a series of campus forums for the purpose of listening to members of the University community.  These forums will allow … [Read more...]

UMW Announces Search Firm for 2015-16 Presidential Search

The University of Mary Washington announced the selection of Baker and Associates as its partner in the search for the 10th president of the university on Friday, June 12. Baker and Associates is an executive search firm established in 2007 whose team brings 60 years of experience to UMW’s search. The search will be led by Senior Vice President Martin Baker. Baker and Associates has conducted more than 500 searches at colleges and universities both in the commonwealth and across the country. Previous presidential and chancellor searches have included the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in 2015, Appalachian State University in 2014 and Western Carolina University in 2011. “Martin Baker brings a combined passion for liberal arts education and the extensive experience necessary to conduct an innovative and strategic executive search,” said Holly Cuellar, rector for the University of Mary Washington’s Board of Visitors. “The search will be national in scope and every … [Read more...]