By Samantha Moore
Staff Writer
(Appeared in the Sept. 7 print edition of The Woods)
The hunt for a new president has begun at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. After the resignation of David Behrs in June of 2010, Dottie King took over as interim president. A search committee has been established in order to find a permanent president.
The committee expects to have narrowed the list of candidates for the position by the end of the month.
Behrs was hired as the president three years ago; his hiring marked the 15th president of the college, as well as the first male president and lay Catholic in the history of SMWC.
David Behrs
In his short tenure as president, Behrs is credited with increasing enrollment, completing a program analysis to help SMWC run more efficiently, and creating more athletic opportunities for students.
Behrs announced in May that he would resign and move back to California with his family. He accepted a position as head of San Domenico, a Catholic K-12 school in the San Francisco Bay area.
King, who previously held the position of vice president for Academic Affairs, has taken over until a new president is hired. She has been a part of SMWC since 2002, when she started as an assistant professor of mathematics.
The process of finding the 16th president of SMWC is well under way, according to Henry Kuehn, a member of the search committee. There are 14 members of the presidential search committee. These include one staff representative, Terry Barr, and one student representative, junior Nicole Wieg.
Other members include committee co-chair Kathryn Martin and Trustees Randy Adams, Dave Bailey, Marcia Schmidt, Alice Shelton, Kathy Lubeznik, Al Watson, and Emeritus Trustee Phillip Summers. The cabinet representative is Art Criss, vice president for Enrollment Management. The faculty representative is Associate Prof. Brad Huffey.** Also on the committee is Sisters of Providence General Council and Trustee Denise Wilkinson.
There are four key steps to filling the position of president. The first step is to contract with a search firm. These search firms are companies that specialize in placing qualified individuals with businesses or schools in hopes of finding their dream jobs or the best fit for them. The committee will then narrow down the field of prospective employees. The third step is to create a short list of candidates. Finally, candidate interviews are planned for February.
Kuehn said the search will not be a closed-door affair. The committee wants students, faculty, parents, and the community to be aware of the progress.
** Due to an editing error, the print version of this story incorrectly stated Prof. Huffey’s title.
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