August 25

To: Members of the College Community

From: Bob Duelks '77
Chair of the Presidential Search Committee and member of the Board of Trustees
Date: August 25, 2008
Subject: Presidential Search Update

As summer draws to a close, I am pleased to report that we are making steady progress in our search for a new president. Since I wrote to you in July, our search consultant Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates has begun the fact-finding phase of the search. During this phase Shelly Storbeck and Susan VanGilder will work with the Presidential Search Committee to develop a document that will describe the qualifications and qualities the College community seeks in its next president. Toward that purpose Ms. Storbeck and Ms. VanGilder are meeting with all of the College's constituencies to identify the attributes that the College community identifies as being most critical to a successful presidency.

The team began with a campus visit at the end of July to meet with members of the President's Office staff and the President's Council. Beginning this week members of the Presidential Search Committee are meeting with alumni and parent leadership groups in New England and the mid-Atlantic.

From September 2-4, the consultants and search committee members will host a series of small and large meetings to further refine the qualities and characteristics of Gettysburg's next president. There will be group meetings for representatives of each of the College's constituencies-faculty, administrators, support staff, students, the Gettysburg community, and the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). Smaller meetings will be held with department chairs/program coordinators, Student Council of Presidents, Support Staff Council, Faculty Council, a mid-level managers group, and the Gettysburg area alumni and parent leadership group. An open forum meeting will be held on September 4 to which everyone on campus-faculty, administrators, support staff, and students-is invited. The schedule of open forum meetings is attached; more detailed information will be posted on the Digest as it becomes available.

We strongly suggest that everyone take advantage of opportunities to become involved in the search process. Attend these meetings and share your ideas and suggestions. The findings will provide the foundation for the presidential profile that will be used to recruit candidates. Thank you for your interest. I will continue to update you on our progress.