WESTFIELD – Yesterday, the board of trustees at Westfield State University decided to resume the search for the school’s next president.
Trustees Steven Marcus and Tirrell Hill were selected to serve as chair and vice chair of the board’s presidential search committee on April 10, but the search was put off while the board awaited the findings of Inspector General Glenn Cunha’s investigation into the spending scandal that led to the retirement of former university president Dr. Evan S. Dobelle. The report was released on July 31.
Board Chair Elizabeth Scheibel said last night that she, Marcus and board Finance Committee Chair Kevin Queenin spoke with various campus leaders at the behest of Interim University President Dr. Elizabeth Preston, regarding their thoughts on the search.
Interim Vice President Dr. Kimberly Tobin, Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Carlton Pickron, Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Marsha Marotta and Vice President of Advancement and University Relations Kenneth Lemanski, along with union leadership on campus, all weighed in.
“I have to say, it was an excellent suggestion,” said Scheibel of Preston’s request. “It was very enlightening and helpful and it clearly guided me in what I think we ought to be doing.”
“It was a joy to communicate with our vice presidents and to feel their enthusiasm about our university and where they feel they should be going,” said Marcus. “Their hearts are filled with love for this university – they’re committed people and they want the best for this university. For me, it was an opportunity to focus in on where the real stuff is.”
Marcus said that campus leadership is “ready to gear up for this presidential search” and wants make sure the search committee chooses a wise leader.
“I think we are ready to move forward. We have a process where the first step is to engage a search firm,” said Scheibel. “There is an RFP (request for proposal) ready to go out that will take a month or so to get back in, so there is some time that will be eaten up in the first step.”
“In my estimation, it’s going to be January before that part is completed. I propose that we proceed with the search,” she said of the firm selection process. “I feel very comfortable in saying that this process should grow organically.”
Scheibel said that she wants the search to be “inclusive” of the campus and added that she is against setting a timetable on finding a new leader.
“We want your voices to be heard and we’ll develop – with guidance and assistance – a process that we hope will make people feel that they are part of this (search),” she said. “I’m clear in my own mind – let’s let it go the way it goes so we can get the very best person that we can get.”
Scheibel acknowledged that the board’s newest additions – Robert Johnson, Dr. Robert Martin, Madeline Landrau and Dr. Linda Slakey – would give the board a full compliment of members who can help with the process.
“Rather than focus on the start date, we have to focus on the process,” said Queenin. “(The process) will ultimately define the date. It’s imperative that we start the process, engage the campus community and others.”
“The timeline will be created by the search firm, the trustees and the campus community,” he said. “Beginning the process thoughtfully will steer us to where we need to go.”
“Universities are more than – and are stronger than – the people that lead them,” said Martin. “It also demonstrates what a president is and is not. It’s important to do the foundational work now with regard to the search.”
Martin, who last served at Westfield State University as Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and recently was interim President at Framingham State University, agreed that setting a timeline would be a mistake at this juncture.
“Where (do) we want the university to be five or ten years from now? What kind of a person do we want as a leader? Something that’s more sophisticated than ‘not the last guy’,” he said of search criteria. “To the extent that those conversations take place and people coalesce around a sense of the qualities that are important, the search is likely to be successful.”
At the conclusion of their first meeting together as trustees, Landrau and Johnson reflected on what they’re looking for in the next president.
“One key element for me is a diversity of thought,” said Landrau, the director of marketing and multicultural market development at the MassMutual Financial Group. “For them to have a diverse leadership process is key.”
“I think I’m a little early in the process,” said Johnson, the former President and CEO of Special Olympics Massachusetts Inc., who earned his B.S. and M.Ed. from Westfield State University in elementary education and special education administration. “But obviously we’re looking for a forward-thinking person, someone of high energy and high integrity who everybody is going to rally around and move this institution forward.”
