Sent on behalf of Brother David Caretti, FSC, and Dr. David Perry, Co-chairs, SMC Presidential Search Committee

Dear Saint Mary’s College community,

We’re pleased to provide another update on Saint Mary’s presidential search. We are continually grateful for your interest and prayerful support of the search process. Herein, we intend to give you a view of the process up to this point as well as share with you the next proximate steps prior to the formal announcement of the next President of Saint Mary’s College by the Board of Trustees.

This past week, the Presidential Search Committee completed Phase 2 of interviews and spoke with five candidates. These interviews were conducted in person and the conversations were robust, allowing the search committee to narrow its engagement with three finalists. 

As previously noted, this presidential search is being conducted with the guidance of current best practices of higher education presidential searches, and it is more confidential than both current College leadership searches and previous Saint Mary’s presidential searches. Unlike those searches, this presidential search will not include distribution of candidate materials to all members of our community, nor will we be holding open forums with the finalists. 

In today’s higher education environment, candidates for presidential positions are highly concerned that their participation in a search could easily jeopardize their reputation and position at their current institution. Prior to the selection of WittKieffer as our search firm, we interviewed six search firms who each articulated that if Saint Mary’s wanted to ensure the strongest pool of candidates possible, we would need to conduct a closed, confidential search. This would have meant that all search activities would have been kept within the Board of Trustees alone. The Board quickly decided against this and looked for other options to keep the search confidential. Our WittKieffer consultants have helped us to create a process that remains confidential as well as allowing for a greater number of people from our campus community than merely the Board or the search committee to participate in the Phase 3 interviews.

To facilitate this, an expanded panel from within the Saint Mary’s community has been invited to participate in the Phase 3 finalist interviews. This addition to the search committee adds more faculty members, staff, students, benefactors, De La Salle Brothers, and administrators with the goal of about 30 people in total. Our search committee nominated individuals to be invited to comprise the expanded panel, and in accepting the invitation, each invitee had to agree to the following:

• Availability to be present in person for a 1.5-hour session with each finalist on 3 successive days;
• Willingness to sign a non-disclosure agreement; and 
• Willingness to provide feedback on each candidate through an anonymous survey.

All of the survey data from the expanded panel will be submitted to the search committee as they finalize their confidential report for the Board of Trustees. During the week following Easter, the search committee will complete its duties by fulfilling the charge from the Board of Trustees: to recommend an unranked list of three candidates they deem most highly qualified and able to fulfill the role of President of Saint Mary’s College. They were also charged to provide strengths and opportunities for each candidate. The feedback from the expanded panel will add to the search committee’s ability to speak thoroughly to the SMC Board of Trustees. 

By April 5, Easter Friday, the Board of Trustees will receive the final report from the search committee, accompanied by a thorough check of references, online presence, and such, conducted by our WittKieffer consultants. 

Search Statistics

Noted in the most recent communication, WittKieffer held over 200 individual conversations with prospective candidates. More fully, they made a total outreach to approximately 2900 individuals, with personal follow-up of 861 individuals which resulted in:

• 68 nominations
• 52 candidates (inclusive of 23 people from a historically underrepresented group; 12 women candidates)
• 11 first-round candidates (Phase 1)
• 5 second-round candidates (Phase 2)
• 3 final candidates (Phase 3)

Candidate Interview Discussion Points & Questions

Throughout the Phase 1 and 2 interviews, all interactions the search committee had with our candidates were shaped by the Presidential Leadership Profile. Candidates were engaged in discussions of many topics that included the following:

• Transformation 2028 and general strategic planning
• Articulation of SMC’s vision in alignment with our Lasallian, Catholic, and Liberal Arts mission
• Enhancement of faculty and staff commitments, and maintaining positive morale
• Student Life, including student support, mental health, and intercollegiate athletics
• Current landscape of higher education, specifically an understanding of SMC and similar institutions
• Academic program innovation and development — Liberal Arts identity and the needs of our students today and in the future
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
• Deep experience and understanding of philanthropy, relationship-building, and donor cultivation
• Bolstering undergraduate and graduate enrollment
• Strong financial acumen and leadership

We provided open-ended prompts as well as particular scenarios related to the above. In the interview sessions, there were differing levels of satisfactory responses by candidates to the above prompts which assisted the search committee in their selection of candidates to move forward within the process. 

We remain deeply grateful for the work of our search committee. They have continued their work with deep care of our Lasallian Catholic mission and also for each of us who make up our blessed Saint Mary’s community. 

Since this is likely our last communication before pausing our semester for Spring Break, may this time be blessed for you, and may you experience the deep joys of the Easter season.

Sincerely,

Brother David Caretti, FSC, EdD

Dr. David Perry, EdD

Co-chairs, SMC Presidential Search Committee

Sent on behalf of Brother David Caretti, FSC, and Dr. David Perry, Co-chairs, SMC Presidential Search Committee

Dear Saint Mary’s College community,

We’re pleased to provide an update on Saint Mary’s presidential search.

By the January 26, 2024, deadline for candidates to submit application materials, our consulting partners at WittKieffer had completed over 200 individual conversations with prospective candidates. We are grateful to so many of you who provided nominations.  WittKieffer’s screening resulted in over 50 applications submitted to the search committee for consideration. 

After review of these materials, the campus search committee invited 12 candidates for a Phase 1 Zoom interview. These spanned over two days, and our deliberations resulted in identifying and inviting five candidates for a Phase 2 in-person interview with the search committee. These interviews will be held off-site this week. Your continued prayers and support remain of great importance in the work of the search committee. 

By the end of this month, we anticipate that finalists will be selected to participate in a final round of interviews, and the Board of Trustees will receive the results of our work to facilitate their discernment in mid-April. We anticipate providing another update before the beginning of the final round. All previous updates and the anticipated timeline can be found on our Presidential Search website. 

As we’ve noted in previous messages, many details about the search remain confidential, and we realize that this search is different from those for other leadership positions within the College. We continue to closely adhere to the guidance and advice of WittKieffer, as well as the directives of our Board of Trustees.

We remain deeply grateful for the work of our search committee, which has been representing the diversity of our Saint Mary’s community in very important ways. With your participation and feedback at the forefront of our deliberations since the early days of our process, we feel very confident in all that has been accomplished within our process to date.

Sincerely,

Brother David Caretti, FSC, EdD

Dr. David Perry, EdD

Co-chairs, SMC Presidential Search Committee

Sent on behalf of Brother David Caretti, FSC, and Dr. David Perry, Co-chairs, SMC Presidential Search Committee

Dear Saint Mary’s College community,

We’re pleased to provide an update on Saint Mary’s presidential search.

The search is in its “quiet” phase, largely due to the nature of the holiday season and the likelihood that potential candidates have been reflecting on the opportunity and conferring with their families.

While many details about the search are confidential, there is robust “behind-the-scenes” activity. The leadership profile for the position is posted to several notable websites and higher education publications, and our consulting partners at WittKieffer continue to make contact with applicants and potential candidates (including individuals who have been recommended by members of the SMC community). Our consultants are optimistic that we will have an excellent pool of candidates from which to choose.

Candidates have been asked to submit their application materials by January 26, 2024. Soon after that deadline has passed, the SMC search committee will begin the screening process to identify top candidates.

Again, we wish to thank our students, faculty, staff, Trustees, Brothers, Regents, alumni, and other members of our community who actively participated in one of the several listening sessions conducted in October as our search process began. Your contributions, including the anonymous survey many of you submitted, helped in developing the Presidential Leadership Profile and greatly informed the characteristics and qualities we seek in our next president.

We look forward to providing future updates in the coming weeks and months. Thank you again for your active participation and keen interest in this search!

Sincerely,

Brother David Caretti, FSC, EdD

Dr. David Perry, EdD

Co-chairs, SMC Presidential Search Committee

Sent on behalf of Brother David Caretti, FSC, and Dr. David Perry, Co-chairs, SMC Presidential Search Committee

Dear Saint Mary’s College community,

We’re pleased to provide the following update on Saint Mary’s presidential search.

Thanks to the excellent work of our dedicated search committee members, the Board of Trustees, our Office of Marketing & Communications, and executive search firm WittKieffer, we have completed and produced the all-important Presidential Leadership Profile. The document is now available on our Presidential Search website and serves as a key tool in the recruitment process, having also been posted by national higher education publications and other venues.

We also want to thank our students, faculty, staff, Trustees, Brothers, Regents, alumni, and other members of our community who actively participated in one of the several listening sessions conducted last month, completed and submitted the anonymous survey, or provided feedback by contacting the Search Committee. Your invaluable contributions and insights helped in developing the Presidential Leadership Profile.

WittKieffer is now accepting nominations and applications. Those who wish to nominate candidates should contact WittKieffer directly at saintmarys-capresident@wittkieffer.com.

We look forward to providing future updates as the search progresses. Thank you again for your active participation in this search!

Sincerely,

Brother David Caretti, FSC, EdD

Dr. David Perry, EdD

Co-chairs, SMC Presidential Search Committee

Sent on behalf of Brother David Caretti, FSC, and Dr. David Perry, Co-chairs, SMC Presidential Search Committee

Dear Saint Mary’s College community,

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, EdD, ’99, Trustee & Committee Co-Chair
• David Perry ’97, MBA ’01, M.Ed. ’04, Ed.D. ’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, D.Min., Hon. EdD.L.D. ’22, Trustee
• Elizabeth Phelan ’92, MSN ’97, 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.

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) are welcome to attend an Alternate Session that 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 11:00 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

Sent on Behalf of Board of Trustees Chairperson Eric Flowers

Dear Saint Mary’s College Faculty and Staff,

The Board of Trustees of Saint Mary’s College has launched a nationwide search for our next president.

To help conduct the search, a steering committee of the Board of Trustees has retained WittKieffer, a preeminent global executive search and leadership advisory firm with decades of experience in academic and educational leadership.

In addition, two search committee co-chairs have been selected from the Board of Trustees—Dr. David Perry and Brother David Caretti, FSC. The full search committee is currently being formed and will be announced soon. The College’s Faculty Senate and Staff Council have been invited to have representation on the search committee and are currently working to determine their respective nominees. 

The entire Saint Mary’s community will soon be notified about and welcomed to participate in several listening sessions, the first of which will be held later this month. The purpose of the listening sessions will be to gather the widest possible input from our diverse community, and for the search committee to learn about the type of leader for which our campus is looking.

These important sessions will also shape and inform the Leadership Profile that summarizes the position and qualifications that will be used in the search for potential candidates. So as to be as inclusive as possible, any in-person listening session will also have a Zoom option.

In addition to our listening sessions, members of the Saint Mary’s community will also be invited to contribute to our presidential search via an anonymous online survey. The survey will be made available at the time of our listening sessions and will also be housed on our Presidential Search website, which is being finalized and will soon be launched. 

The listening sessions, the survey, and additional activities to be determined later in the search process are all of great importance to the Board and search committee as we learn from our campus community what attributes and skills are needed from our next President. 

The College’s Transformation 2028 strategic plan will serve as a blueprint and lodestar for our search. We encourage all members of the Saint Mary’s community to review and familiarize themselves with the strategic plan if you plan on attending any of our listening sessions or wish to offer feedback on the search. 

We look forward to your active participation in this critical search.

Sincerely,

Eric Flowers EMBA '04

Chairperson, SMC Board of Trustees