Community Engagement Key to Successful Search for President
September 27, 2023
The search for the next president of Cretin-Derham Hall continued this month with several important efforts to solicit broad community input to inform the search process.
On September 13 and 14, the search firm visited campus for two days filled with meetings to better understand the unique culture and needs of our school. During the site visit, interviews and small group sessions were conducted with community members, faculty/staff, students, campus ministry, and alumni. The Board of Directors and the Search Committee also received training on the search process.
“Cretin-Derham Hall is blessed with so many members of our community who care deeply about the future of our school,” noted Maria Reamer, Board Chair and Search Committee Chair. “These voices are so important to understanding what is unique, distinctive, and valued about CDH as the school works diligently to find new leadership.”
In August, all community members were also invited to take a Community Survey for the Presidential Search. Nearly 700 community members completed this survey and offered feedback on a variety of questions regarding the role of president and the opportunities and challenges CDH will be facing in the coming years. According to the search firm, this is a very significant response and shows an impressive high level of commitment from our community.
The feedback gathered from the two days of meetings with all the various constituencies and the results of the community-wide survey were valuable in the development of the position description. This information will be used to solicit, identify, and engage world-class candidates.
The next few months will be focused on the identification, vetting, and interviewing of candidates with the goal of naming the next President by end of year. The search firm is currently assessing all candidates according to the requirements and qualifications of the position description, and will move forward all viable candidates to the Search Committee for further vetting.The Search Committee will review all vetted candidates in October and November. The final candidates will be determined by the Search Committee after a thorough preliminary interview process. Final candidates will visit campus in November or December for personal interviews and a chance to meet with our various constituents. Following this visit, the community will have an opportunity to provide feedback via a survey. After this process is completed, the Search Committee will make the final recommendation to the Board who in turn votes on presenting this candidate to the sponsors, the Christian Brothers and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, for their final approval of the next President of CDH.
“The significant engagement of our community in the search process is going to ensure we will find, and eventually select, the strongest candidate who will meet the needs of CDH now, and into the future,” noted Teri McCloughan, Interim President, noting that the process is moving swiftly at this point. “On behalf of our entire school community, thank you!”
For more information on the search process, please visit the Presidential Search 2023 webpage.
