Crier News met with Rich Meelia ’71 and Joanne Pietrini-Smith ’85, co-chairs of the Presidential Search Committee, to get an update on the progress made in the search for the next president of Saint Anselm College. The Presidential Search Committee and Isaacson, Miller, the search firm helping with this process, are in the middle of the search time line, with an expected completion date later this Spring.
The Search Committee was created in November, gathering representatives from all areas of the college community. The thirteen members include Joanne Pietrini-Smith (Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees), Rich Meelia (Trustee, Chair of the Finance Committee), Denise Askin, Ph.D. (Board Member), Abbot Mark Cooper, O.S.B., (Ex Officio), Meoghan Cronin, Ph.D. (Faculty), Alicia Finn, Ph.D. (Dean of Students), Neil Levesque (Executive Director, NHIOP), Brother Isaac Murphy, O.S.B. (Board Member), Maggie O’Leary (Student, Class of 2014), Chuck Pollard, Esq. (Chair of the Board of Trustees), Mike Sheehan (Alumnus), Barry Smith (Board Member), and Derk Weirda, Ph.D. (Faculty).
In the beginning stages of the presidential search, open forums were held with Isaacson, Miller and individuals from the Anselmian community, including members of the Benedictine community, trustees, faculty, staff, alumni, and students. This allowed the firm to become familiar with the college, its mission, and the type of leader it needs. This information was used to effectively advertise the opening at the school.
After placing advertisements in various scholarly journals and other qualified publications back in November 2012, Isaacson, Miller received very positive interest from applicants across the nation. While the applicants have different backgrounds, many possess the qualifications and characteristics sought in the next president and featured in the Saint Anselm College Position Profile created by Isaacson, Miller, which can be found on our Saint Anselm College website.
In addition to the personal and professional qualifications in the profile, Meelia and Pietrini-Smith recounted a number of the characteristics being sought.
“The successful candidate must be passionate about personifying and preserving the Benedictine tradition and the Catholic mission of the College. The candidate must have a thorough understanding of the goals and values of a Catholic education founded in the liberal arts. We believe the successful candidate must be a strong leader, have an established track record of gathering resources to support the mission of the College, a commitment to fostering an inclusive environment, a commitment to supporting faculty and administration, and be very student focused in their approach,” explain Meelia and Pietrini-Smith.
The current list of candidates includes both external and internal applicants, as well as “applicants from the Saint Anselm Monastic Community,” according to Pietrini-Smith. At this time, none of the candidates’ names are being released for privacy purposes.
Meelia and Pietrini-Smith are pleased to see applicants from within the Monastic Community, given that the office of the presidency has always been filled by a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. Nevertheless, all qualified candidates will be given equal consideration for the position and will follow the same process, regardless of whether or not they are internal or external applicants.
“Tradition is important to all of us”, state Meelia and Pietrini-Smith. “St. Anselm College, and higher education in general, is facing many new challenges and opportunities, and the new president must be the most qualified person to lead us into the future.”
Throughout this entire process, Father Jonathan has been and continues to be instrumental in providing insight on what the institution needs.
“Being a leader of this institution for so many years, as well as having a strong understanding of what his peers are facing in today’s higher education environment, Fr. Jonathan has provided guidance and input to us during this process. He is very focused on ensuring a smooth and successful transition,” explains Meelia.
The Search Committee has narrowed the list of applicants and has selected those who will be proceeding to a deeper review process, conducted by Isaacson, Miller. Since this is Isaacson, Miller’s area of expertise, they have developed a keen eye for developing fuller profiles and background assessments of applicants.
“Isaacson, Miller was founded in 1982 and specializes in nationwide searches for a wide variety of organizations, including Catholic higher education. They have a demonstrated track record of filling president and executive level roles at these institutions,” states Meelia, “and we’ve been very pleased with their commitment to understanding Saint Anselm College’s mission and identity, needs for the future, and in their approach to familiarize themselves with the full community representing the College. We feel we have a strong partner to work with on this important effort.”
Upon the completion of their profile and assessment process, Isaacson, Miller will meet with the Search Committee to discuss the information they gather. Based on this discussion, select candidates will be interviewed by the Search Committee off-campus, once again preserving anonymity and ensuring confidentiality for applicants. Based on these interviews, a group of finalists will be invited for a campus visit where trustees, members of the Benedictine community, alumni, faculty, staff and students will be invited to meet with each candidate, as well as provide their feedback.
The results of the feedback from these on-campus meetings will be reviewed and discussed with the full Board of Trustees and the Chair of the Members, Abbot Mark, after which Abbot Mark will nominate a candidate for approval by the Board of Trustees. This process and the appointment of the next president by Abbot Mark are expected to be completed by late Spring. If the selected candidate accepts the role, we should expect a new president to be in place for the beginning of the 2013-2014 academic year.
Since Father Jonathan DeFelice has served as President of the college for nearly 25 years, both Meelia and Pietrini-Smith acknowledge the profound, positive impact he has made on this institution. DeFelice is not only a leader, but also embodies the mission of Saint Anselm College and what it means to be a true Anselmian. In fact, a number of the applicants knew much about Saint A’s because of DeFelice’s strong public image.
Although Father Jonathan’s retirement will be a big adjustment for Saint Anselm College and the surrounding community, Meelia and Pietrini-Smith focus on the positive aspects of the transition. The legacy that DeFelice has left will never be forgotten as the school moves forward in new leadership.
“Fr. Jonathan’s legacy is filled with many significant accomplishments over the past nearly 25 years, and the individual who will fill the role of president for the future needs to be able to embrace challenges and opportunities with the intellect, spirit, adaptability and sense of purpose Fr. Jonathan exhibited. We prefer to think of Fr. Jonathan’s retirement as the ‘passing of a torch’, rather than an ending,” comment Meelia and Pietrini-Smith.
