Nominations and applications for the 15th St. Thomas president have started coming in as the search process to replace the Rev. Dennis Dease continues.
Sara Gross Methner, general counsel and chief human resources officer, said the university could not comment on who is in the candidate pool.
“We are absolutely seeking a high quality candidate, and I feel confident that we will have a high quality pool of candidates,” Gross Methner said.
The official candidate profile was posted on the university website in July. The projected timeline calls for the search committee to start reviewing candidates in October and to reach a final decision by the end of the calendar year. However, the search is an open process, and the timeline could change.
“Recruiting continues until the position is filled,” Gross Methner said.
Nationally, only 14 four-year liberal arts colleges are looking for presidents, including St. Thomas, as of Sept. 6. Within that list is only one other Catholic college, Wyoming Catholic, which only has 130 students and was established in 2005. DePaul University, the largest Catholic university in the country, is seeking a provost, which is usually the No. 2 position after president at a university.
Comparable universities searching for a president include Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey with 8,900 undergraduates. Luther (Iowa) College, which ranks No. 100 for national liberal arts schools by U.S. News & World Report and has an undergraduate population of about 2,500 students, is a nearby school looking for a new leader. St. Thomas recently ranked No. 113 nationally and has more than 6,000 undergraduates.
“I would expect to see a diverse group of candidates,” Gross Methner said. “We are searching for the best qualified candidate who is Roman Catholic.”
The candidate can be a lay person for the first time in the university’s history, which could mean the first woman president. Methner did not rule out this possibility.
The search firm Witt/Kieffer has not decided whether the candidate interviews will be public or private. These details will be specified as the process progresses, Gross Methner said. A university search committee was selected last spring, and no undergraduate students are part of this group.
The board of trustees has outlined a list of priorities for the new president to consider on the search website. This includes creating a vision and strategy for leading St. Thomas into the future in terms of academic programs, Catholic identity and building the university’s reputation.
The final priority is building the university’s resources and capacity. The search profile elaborates this point, stating, “A new campaign must be contemplated within just a few years to expand the endowment and ensure continued accessibility of a St. Thomas education to students of all backgrounds who show promise.”
The board has listed in its strategic direction that it wants to make the university more affordable to students. With the rising costs of college tuition and student debt nationally, this has caused one other local university, Concordia University, to lower tuition.
Gross Methner has seen a lot of excitement among the higher education community about this process.
“St. Thomas is seen as a very positive, strong university. There’s been a lot of positive reaction to the opening the leadership profile,” she said. “Obviously everyone feels very strongly about Father Dease and has strong feelings about him. He’s been a wonderful and beloved leader for the institution. In light of the retirement, it’s an opportunity for the university.”
Theresa Malloy can be reached at mall5754@stthomas.edu.