Past News and Communications

MEMORANDUM
TO: Members of the Culver-Stockton College Community
FROM: Donald K. Gnuse, Chair, Presidential Search Committee
DATE: April 20, 2009
SUBJECT: Visit to the Campus by Finalist Candidates

As you know from previous reports of the presidential search committee, the final phase of our recruitment effort includes an invitation to the finalist candidates to visit the campus. We are pleased to announce that we have invited the following finalists to visit the campus.

- Richard A. Hanson, president – Waldorf College (April 23)
- B. David Rowe, vice president for advancement – LaGrange College (April 30)
- Richard D. Valentine, vice president for advancement – Transylvania University (May 5)

The purposes of these visits are two-fold. First, they will enable us to know the candidates better. Second, and perhaps more important, the visits will allow us to further acquaint the candidates with the attractions of Culver-Stockton College and its constituents.

Throughout the search process, the committee has been pledged to protect the identity of candidates. Obviously, we can no longer promise confidentiality to these finalists, but I urge you to bear in mind that each of them holds a significant position elsewhere, and any inquiries you feel obliged to make about them should be handled with sensitivity and discretion.

In addition to the search committee's preliminary interviews with these candidates earlier in April, we have had many conversations with individuals who have worked with them and know them well. There is a strong consensus within the search committee that these candidates are capable of providing effective leadership for Culver-Stockton College.

In addition to meetings with representatives of the College’s constituencies, we have scheduled an informal reception so that all members of the College community can meet each candidate. These receptions will occur at 4 p.m. on the date noted at the end of each candidate's name, and will be held in Johnson Hall Parlor. We encourage all interested members of the campus community to attend.

Following your meetings with each of the candidates, you can login to http://angel.culver.edu and complete a feedback form. We ask the online form be completed by the end of the candidate’s visit to campus.

We are pleased with the progress of the search and look forward to this final phase. Thank you for your continuing support and assistance.

MEMORANDUM
TO: Members of the Culver-Stockton College Community
FROM: Donald K. Gnuse, Chair, Presidential Search Committee
DATE: April 03, 2009
SUBJECT: Search Update

I am writing to provide another update on the search for the next president of Culver-Stockton College. The search committee met most recently on April 3, 2009 to select eight candidates who have been invited to participate in confidential preliminary interviews with the search committee. These candidates were selected on the basis of reference calls made by the committee and our consultant on a larger number of individuals whose background and experience ¬seemed especially consistent with the presidential qualities and qualifications established for the search. On completion of preliminary interviews, the committee will select candidates who will be invited to participate in more extensive on-campus interviews with a broad range of Culver-Stockton’s constituents.

The committee is very pleased with the quality of the semi-finalist candidates and is confident that the search will conclude in May 2009. If you have any questions, please direct them to me (in care of Mrs. Briscoe), or Harold Kolenbrander, our consultant (phone: 513-233-2676; e-mail: hmk@academic-search.com).

Thank you again for your interest and support.

MEMORANDUM
TO: Members of the Culver-Stockton College Community
FROM: Donald K. Gnuse, Chair, Presidential Search Committee
DATE: March 16, 2009
SUBJECT: Search Update

The search committee met most recently on March 13 and selected 16 candidates whose background and experience ­seem especially consistent with the presidential qualities and qualifications established for the search. At this time, references for these candidates are being checked by committee members and by our consultant. The committee will meet again on April 3 to discuss the results of our reference calls and to select a smaller number of candidates who will be invited to confidential preliminary interviews with the search committee. On completion of that round of interviews, the committee will select candidates to be asked to participate in more extensive interviews with a broad range of the College’s constituents. We will notify you of the specific dates and times of these visits as soon as they are scheduled.

We are very pleased with the quality of the candidate pool and have every reason to believe that our search will come to a successful conclusion in early May. If you have any questions, please direct them to me (in care of Mrs. Briscoe), or Harold M. Kolenbrander, our consultant (phone: 513-233-2676; e-mail: hmk@academic-search.org).

Thank you for your interest and support.

MEMORANDUM
TO: Members of the Culver-Stockton College Community
FROM: Donald K. Gnuse, Chair, Presidential Search Committee
DATE: February 2, 2009
SUBJECT: Search Update

The presidential search committee met on January 30, 2009. I am writing to you again to update you on our progress. At the meeting, we reviewed and tested a draft rating form that we will use in assessing applicants for the presidency, and we made plans for subsequent meetings and activities. On March 13, 2009, we will meet again to review applications and to reduce the pool to a smaller group whose references will be checked.

The committee will continue to stay in touch with you throughout the process, and we welcome your comments and questions at any time. You may write to me in care of Doris Briscoe or you may contact our consultant, Dr. Harold M. Kolenbrander, at 513-233-2676 or hmk@academic-search.com. We will treat any information you provide as confidential.

Thank you very much for your interest and support.

MEMORANDUM
TO: Members of the Culver-Stockton College Community
FROM: Donald K. Gnuse, Chair, Presidential Search Committee
DATE: January 5, 2009
SUBJECT: Search Update

The presidential search is under way, and I am writing to provide a report on the committee’s progress and plans.

The search committee met on January 5, 2009, to plan the search and to discuss and revise the position and profile and advertisement prepared by our consultant, Dr. Harold M. Kolenbrander of Academic Search, Inc. This position profile resulted from research completed by Dr. Kolenbrander during a two-day visit to the campus just before the Christmas holidays, a visit that included conversations with many of you. The profile will be posted on the College’s website in a few days. It is currently being formatted and finalized with campus photos by the Academic Search staff in Washington, D.C.

Following its posting on the College’s website, a review of the profile will reveal a list of expectations of our next president and a list of the College’s priorities going forward. We encourage you to review the document. Then we encourage you to suggest people you know who could serve effectively as our next president or who might know potential candidates. Please forward their name(s) to me in care of Doris Briscoe and we will contact them immediately. You also may refer names to Dr. Kolenbrander at Academic Search, Inc. He can be reached by phone at 513-233-2676 or by e-mail at hmk@academic-search.com. The committee is well aware that the success of our search depends on the involvement of all members of the Culver-Stockton community. By nominating strong candidates, you can play an important role in the search process.

Over the next few months, we will generate the candidate pool through nominations received from you, national education and foundation officials, other colleges and universities, friends of the College, advertising in the Chronicle of Higher Education and elsewhere, and the work of our consultant. In March 2009, we will begin to narrow the candidate pool, moving toward a time in late April when interviews involving the entire campus will be held.

The search is off to a good start. We will write to you again as we enter subsequent stages of the process.