Representatives from AGB Search (the personnel search arm of the Association of Governing Boards, a higher education membership organization), are visiting Western’s campus Oct. 13 and 14 to conduct a series of listening sessions. These sessions are designed to obtain Western community input for the selection of a new university president.
There are specific listening sessions for faculty, students, university staff, the Western Board of Trustees, community members, and alumni and donors.
These sessions are all centered around four questions of interest:
- What are the challenges faced by the incoming president?
- What opportunities await the new president?
- How will success be measured for a presidential decision? What metrics will be used?
- What characteristics, be they personality traits, personal experiences and backgrounds, or other factors are required and/or ideal for the new Western president?
Additionally, an anonymous survey outlining these four questions is open for submissions until Oct. 20.
The schedule for these meetings on Oct. 14 is copied below, and can also be found on the Western Presidential Search webpage.
Oct. 14 Listening Sessions:
| 12:20-1:05 p.m. | Faculty | University Center North Ballroom |
| 1:10-1:55 p.m. | Students | University Center North Ballroom |
| 2-2:45 p.m. | Staff | University Center North Ballroom |
| 3-4 p.m. | Trustees | Zoom (click here to join) |
| 4:15-5 p.m. | Community | Zoom (click here to join) |
| 5:30-6:15 p.m. | Alumni/Donors | Zoom (click here to join) |
After these listening sessions, as well as meetings with various campus groups and stakeholders taking place over the course of the two day visit, AGB search will synthesize the anecdotes, community input and other information offered, and compose a Presidential Profile and recruitment plan. Update calls between the AGB Search team and the Presidential Search Committee will be conducted twice monthly.
Active candidate recruitment will take place from the end of October until mid-January, roughly an 8-week span.
Two principals from AGB Search, Dr. Margaret (Peggy) Plympton and Monica Burton, were present on campus Wednesday, and said they hoped that candidates for the position can come to Western’s campus in the spring of 2022 for final interviews, and if all goes well, that a decision regarding a future president could be made by the March 24 Board of Trustees (BoT) meeting.
The complete schedule for the process can be found below:
| Date | Search Milestone |
| Weeks of Sep 20 to Oct 18 2021 | AGB Search virtual meetings and campus visit |
| Mid-Oct. 2021 | AGB Search conducts research; develops recruitment plan and Presidential Profile in collaboration with Search Committee |
| 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month | Regular progress calls with Search Committee |
| End Oct 2021 | Search launch |
| End Oct. 2021 to Mid-Jan. 2022 | AGB Search engages in active recruitment – approximately 8 weeks |
| Mid.-Jan 2022 | Meeting with AGB Search and the Search Committee to discuss candidate evaluation process |
| End Jan. 2022 | Search Committee review of applications |
| Early – Mid-Feb. 2022 | AGB Search-Search Committee meeting to review applicant pool and select semifinalists |
| Following above mtg | Semifinalist candidate initial due diligence by AGB Search |
| End Feb. 2022 | Semifinalist interviews and finalist selection by Search Committee |
| March 2022 | Finalist visits on campus with stakeholder groups |
| March 2022 | Finalist candidate references and in-depth background checks by AGB Search |
| Immediately after above visits | Search Committee prepares report for Board on finalists for Trustee meeting Mar 24 |