March update on search for SJU president

SENT ON BEHALF OF SJU CHAIR & VICE-CHAIR OF THE BOARD, JIM FREY AND ANN HUNTRODS

Report to SJU & CSB Communities
March 5, 2009

The SJU Presidential Selection Committee has met several times in the last weeks. We are very pleased to report that the Committee is making good progress and is on schedule to make a recommendation that the Board of Regents could act on at their meeting on May 18, 2009. 

The Committee has developed a presidential profile that describes the skills and attributes we are seeking in a president for Saint John’s University. The profile is included below in this email. 

The Selection Committee will be meeting with the candidates for the first time in mid-March.  It is our intent that from these preliminary interviews we will select candidates who would move forward in the process.  In April there will be campus forums so members of the Saint John’s and Saint Benedict communities can meet the candidates and ask questions.  The dates and times of these forums will be determined in late March and shared with you through emails and the CSB/SJU Bulletin Board.  
 
Jim Frey, Chair and Ann Huntrods, Vice-Chair
Saint John’s University Board of Regents

SAINT JOHN’S UNIVERSITY
PRESIDENTIAL PROFILE

CONTEXT

The College of Arts and Sciences at Saint John’s University enrolls nearly 1,900 undergraduate men.  For 45 years, Saint John’s and the College of Saint Benedict have engaged in a cooperative undergraduate educational relationship unlike any other in American higher education.  The partnership has evolved continuously over four decades, beginning with limited classroom exchanges and today featuring a unified curriculum; identical degree requirements; a single faculty, academic structure and calendar; and shared social, cultural and spiritual programs.  In addition to shared and coordinated academic and administrative operations, the two colleges also have developed explicit ways for the boards of each institution to work together on common issues and priorities.

Saint John’s University also includes a graduate School of Theology and Seminary, which offers master’s degrees in theology and ministry to women and men; the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML), an international center for the preservation of manuscripts, The Saint John’s Bible, and other sponsored programs.  Each of these programs enriches the larger environment for undergraduate education. 

Saint John’s University is one of four divisions operating within the corporation of the Order of Saint Benedict.  The other corporate divisions are Saint John’s Abbey, Saint John’s Preparatory School, and The Liturgical Press.  These components of “the larger Saint John’s” create a distinctive environment for undergraduate and graduate theological education.

PRESIDENTIAL ROLE AND EXPECTATIONS

The president of Saint John’s University will build on a strong history of educating young men. Working with a skilled and dedicated faculty and staff, the president will:

• Lead Saint John’s University in providing the very best residential liberal arts education in the Catholic university tradition.

Leadership at Saint John’s University entails a commitment to the education and development of men and women.  The president of Saint John’s University will work with the campus community and the Board of Regents to provide a cohesive vision for Saint John’s undergraduate education that builds on the institution’s history and tradition. This vision will preserve the identity of Saint John’s University, while celebrating the unique coordinate relationship with the College of Saint Benedict.

Continued excellence must be assured in academic programming and services for students.  This will require commitment to recruitment and retention of an outstanding faculty and professional staff.  The new president will bring leadership for connecting a rigorous liberal arts curriculum with opportunities for the ethical, social and spiritual development of men, guided by Benedictine values and principles. 

• Advance the mission and values of Saint John’s University and its partner, the College of Saint Benedict.

The profile of Saint John’s University is unique. It is one of four men’s colleges in the United States and the only school in the country engaged in a coordinated relationship with a similarly successful women’s institution. Together Saint John’s University and the College of Saint Benedict aspire to be the finest Catholic liberal arts institutions in the country.  The president of Saint John’s University will work in collaboration with the president of the College of Saint Benedict to advance student achievement and retention, faculty research and scholarship, and faculty participation in national initiatives.

Saint John’s University has a strong institutional commitment to broaden the range of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds in the student body, faculty and staff with special emphasis on increasing the number of first generation, low-income students. The president has a leadership role in this important initiative.

• Cultivate support for Saint John’s University through fund-raising and friend-raising.

The president must effectively articulate the mission and vision of Saint John’s University to many diverse audiences in order to actively engage them in financial and volunteer support for the institution.  The president must energetically and persuasively represent Saint John’s to alumni, friends, corporate and foundation leaders, employees, and peers.

• Lead and advance the distinctive programs and initiatives of Saint John’s University.

Saint John’s University has a strong history of entrepreneurial ventures and initiatives that enrich the environment for undergraduate and graduate education and the larger world. These include The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, The Saint John’s Bible, and Saint John’s Pottery, among others.  Signature Saint John’s commitments include environmental stewardship, civic engagement, entrepreneurship, ecumenical and interreligious understanding, cultural preservation and artistic creativity.  The new president will provide leadership in connecting these signature commitments to the undergraduate education and to communities beyond Saint John’s. 

• Build and maintain a collaborative and supportive community, sustaining a strong relationship with Saint John’s Abbey

Among the Benedictine values guiding the University are the qualities of community living, hospitality, justice, listening, moderation, respect for persons, and stability.  The president of Saint John’s must cultivate an environment that promotes trust and engages the faculty and staff in maintaining community at all levels.  The president will be a visible and active member of the campus community, including the extended campus community of Saint John’s, while maintaining a presence for the institution with many external audiences.  The president must also maintain a strong relationship with Saint John’s Abbey, one that facilitates open communication and mutual respect and advances the institution’s Catholic tradition and Benedictine values. 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

In addition to a terminal degree and significant demonstrated leadership in higher education, the next president of Saint John’s will possess a number of presidential qualities important to the future of the institution.  These include:

Commitment to the mission:  Demonstrate a commitment to the mission and traditions of Saint John’s University as an exceptional Benedictine, Catholic, liberal arts, and residential undergraduate college for men, with a graduate program in theology as well as other programs.

Visionary leadership skills:  Continue to develop, advance, and articulate the vision of Saint John’s and develop and implement plans to bring the vision to fruition. 

Communication and relationship-building skills:  Represent Saint John’s University as an enthusiastic ambassador to students, faculty, staff, friends, alumni, donors and the public to sustain and strengthen the financial position, programs and public image of Saint John’s.

Management and administrative skills: Lead the administration of the University as a positive agent for change by effectively managing its human, financial, and capital resources.  

Collaborative skills:  Work effectively with the University’s Board of Regents in the governance of the University, with the College of Saint Benedict in the dynamic coordinate relationship, and with the Order of Saint Benedict in the evolving corporate structure.

Interpersonal skills:  Inspire trust and encourage the diverse contributions of the faculty, students, staff and alumni to sustain the strong sense of community and advance the mission of Saint John’s.

Personal qualities:  Possess energy, enthusiasm, courage, intellectual curiosity and a sense of humor.

Presidential Selection Committee 2009
Ann Huntrods, Committee Chair & SJU Board Vice-Chair
Kathy Cooney, Chair, CSB Board of Trustees
Rob Culligan, SJU VP of Institutional Advancement
Patti Epsky, SJU Executive Assistant to the President
Jennifer Galovich, SJU Faculty Member & Former Faculty Regent
Katie Johnson, SJU Faculty Regent
Tom Joyce, Former SJU Chair & Regent Emeritus
Phil Kronebusch, SJU Faculty & Former Faculty Regent
Jon McGee, CSB/SJU VP of Enrollment, Planning & Public Affairs
Joe Mucha, Former SJU Regent
Ken Roering, SJU Regent
Tom Schnettler, SJU Regent
Hilary Thimmesh, OSB, President Emeritus & SJU Regent
Nick Truso, SJU Student Regent
Jim Frey, Chair, SJU Board of Regents (ex officio)
Abbot John Klassen, OSB, SJU Chancellor (ex officio)

 

Yes