The search for the new face of Millikin continues.
After Jim Reynold’s resignation, Millikin is in need of a new president. The search is now in full swing and the Presidential Search Committee (PSC) is tasked with finding a new president.
The PSC meets once a week and is prepared to begin the process of choosing our next president. However, the search process takes time as it is tedious and important for the future of Millikin. The PSC has done everything in order to have a variety of voices heard when considering a candidate for president.
“The committee is a great mix of the Millikin community, in terms of not only trustees, [we also] have two faculty representatives, a student representative, staff representative, and so [it’s] a great mix of the different groups that bring a different flavor from the community,” Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Chairman of the PSC, Ronald Branch, said.
Millikin students and faculty are not solely relying on the PSC to pick our new president. The PSC and the executive consultant firm they are working with, AGB Search, have made an effort to reach out to other students who want a voice in the process.
Students went to a listening session on September 30th that allowed them to openly speak their minds and tell an AGB Search representative specifically what they would like to see in Millikin’s new president.
“The listening session was to hear what the Millikin community wants and expects from the next president,” Branch said.
A total of three students showed up to the listening session. Although there weren’t many students that attended, the AGB Search representative still received helpful information for the search.
Not only is there a diverse group of individuals on the PSC, but they also made sure multiple groups of people were able to give their input about what they want the new president to accomplish.
“The listening sessions were held with all constituent groups of Millikin University, and just for information purposes, those included not only the students, but also current and former trustees, the faculty, the staff, alumni, and community groups who are interested in Decatur and the next president,” Branch said.
There has been a wide variety of voices that the AGB Search’s representative has heard, and now they must keep all of those voices in mind when helping pick possible candidates for our new president.
“From that information that was created and provided by the groups, the executive consultant search firm now puts together the recruiting search profile that will recruit candidates for the position of president of Millikin University,” Branch said.
Everyone has their own opinion on what they would like to see the next president accomplish. Even Branch and the PSC has a loose vision of what they would like the new president to look like.
“[We are looking for] an amazing president that can help move Millikin University to a higher level in all standards,” Branch said.
The PSC is anticipating that October 15th will be the day that they will begin to look for candidates for the position.
