January 26 2009

To:           Members of the Gettysburg College Community
Cc:           Board of Trustees

From:       Bob Duelks ’77, Chair of the Presidential Search Committee and Trustee

Date:        January 26, 2009
Subject:   Presidential Search Update, Town Hall Meeting and Campus Visit

Dear Members of the Gettysburg College Community:

We are winding down in the search for a dynamic new president for Gettysburg College. I have enjoyed communicating with you since July about the progress of the Presidential Search Committee, and I am very happy to tell you that we have enjoyed a most productive search to date. We have been extremely pleased at the number and quality of individuals who expressed an interest in this crucial position at our College.  Earlier this month, the PSC conducted follow-up interviews and reference checks for multiple finalists. Both the professional search firm and the members of the search committee went to great lengths to assure that our research was comprehensive and thorough.

I know that it was very important to all of you that we act as openly and transparently as possible throughout this process and we have taken that responsibility very seriously, while at the same time respecting the need for confidentiality to protect the privacy of the candidates. We have done our best to conduct ourselves in a way that honors this dual challenge.

We are now arriving at the public stage of our process and I would like to invite you to participate in this final chapter with us. Will you please note on your calendars a series of important campus meetings that will be held this week and plan to attend one or more if at all possible?

On Wednesday, January 28 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in the CUB Ballroom, we invite you to join us at a town-hall style meeting for the campus community to hear from members of the search committee. We will update you on our progress and entertain any questions that you may have about the process.   Please feel free to bring your lunch.

On Thursday, January 29, the Presidential Search Committee has invited a finalist to participate in two wide ranging on-campus interviews. We have scheduled two different sessions in order to make them accessible to as many members of our campus community as possible. There will be an opportunity for you to provide feedback after each of the sessions that will be shared with the Board of Trustees. You may select between 10 to 11 a.m. in CUB 260 and 2 to 3 p.m. in the Mara Auditorium.  In addition, this same individual will attend a special meeting of the faculty from 4 to 5 p.m. in Mara Auditorium. This last session is reserved solely for faculty.

Each of these sessions will begin with the finalist’s vision for Gettysburg College, followed by an opportunity for wide ranging questions from the community.
As we enter these final stages of our Presidential selection process, I again want to thank the members of the search committee for their dedicated and insightful work.  It will be our privilege to present our recommendation to the Board of Trustees in the near future and at that time the final decision will be theirs to make. Again, it has been our privilege to serve you in this capacity.

Sincerely,

Bob Duelks ’77