Introducing Saint Mary’s Presidential Search Committee and Presidential Search Website

As members of the Board of Trustees who value the College’s mission, vision, Lasallian heritage, and the De La Salle Christian Brothers, we’re honored to be serving as co-chairs of the Presidential Search Committee. We deeply believe in the impact of Saint Mary’s, as an institution and as a community, for both of us are individuals whose lives were transformed by our own Saint Mary’s experience. 

With the Transformation 2028 strategic plan and our Lasallian Core Principles acting as our guideposts, we are committed to working closely with members of the search committee, the Board of Trustees, our executive search firm, WittKieffer, and all members of the Saint Mary’s campus community to help find our next president. 

Presidential Search Committee

Today, we’re pleased to announce the campus’s full Search Committee. We greatly appreciate the time, effort, and commitment of the committee members and the expertise they are lending to this search. The committee members are: 

• Brother David Caretti, FSC ’99, EdD, Trustee & Committee Co-Chair
• David Perry ’97, MBA ’01, MEd ’04, EdD ’19, Trustee & Committee Co-Chair
• Samantha Alberto ’12, Director, Residential Experience, and Interim Director, Intercultural Center
• Tom Carroll '04, MA '07, Associate Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Advancement
• Vidya Chandrasekaran, PhD, Professor of Biology
• Karen Clyne ’98, Regent
• David (Zach) Flanagin, PhD, Professor of Theology and Religious Studies
• Eric Flowers, MBA ’04, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees
• James Johnson, PhD, Chief Information Officer
• Brother Ernest Miller, FSC, DMin, Hon EdD LD ’22, Trustee
• Elizabeth Phelan ’92, MSN, Secretary of the Board of Trustees
• Mari-Anne Rosario, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Physics and Astronomy

Presidential Search Prayer

Given our Lasallian Catholic heritage, we respectfully offer a Presidential Search Prayer. We plan on using this prayer at search-related meetings and listening sessions, and we invite members of the campus community to use the prayer as part of their prayers and reflections:

Let us remember that we are in the Holy Presence of God.

We come before you, Spirit of God,
conscious of our limitations,
but aware that we gather in your name.
Come to us, remain with us,
and enlighten our hearts.
Give us light and inspiration
as we work together to discern
part of our Saint Mary’s future.
May your presence in our deliberations and decisions
lead us to find the next President of Saint Mary’s
who embraces our Mission,
is esteemed by our College Community,
works ‘together and by association’
and has true vision for Saint Mary’s and our future.
Guide us by your wisdom,
and support us by your power.
Do not allow us to be misled by ignorance
or corrupted by fear or favor.
Unite us to yourself in the bond of love
and keep us faithful to the Lasallian Catholic Mission.

Saint John Baptist de La Salle, pray for us.
Live Jesus in our hearts, forever.

Presidential Search Website

We’re also delighted to announce the launch of SMC’s presidential search website. 

The website will serve as the primary landing spot for potential candidates, with information about Saint Mary’s, important links, and details about the search. It will also serve as a place where the Saint Mary’s campus community can find updates on the search process, as well as information on upcoming Listening Sessions.

Visit SMC’s Presidential Search Website

Listening Sessions

As a reminder, we strongly encourage all members of the Saint Mary’s community to attend an upcoming Listening Session, the details of which can be found on the Presidential Search website. The campus search committee and our partners at WittKieffer greatly value a broad range of input into this important process, and the Listening Sessions offer a critical opportunity for them to hear directly from you about what characteristics and skills are most needed in our next President. Your input will directly inform the Leadership Profile that will be compiled for use in the recruitment process.

Invited guests and those members of the campus community who are unable to attend sessions specific to them (faculty, staff, students), an Alternate Session will be available later that day.

Those who are unable to attend a listening session or would like to provide additional input are invited to complete a feedback survey. We kindly ask you to complete the survey no later than 11 p.m. on Monday, October 30.

Additional inquiries, input, and nominations may be sent to WittKieffer consultants at SaintMarys-CAPresident@wittkieffer.com.

Thank you for your active participation in this search!

Sincerely,

Brother David Caretti, FSC

Dr. David Perry

Co-chairs, SMC Presidential Search Committee