The search for Marywood’s next Vice President of Business Affairs is “well under way,” according to a memo released earlier this week by Jim Gavin, a member of the Board of Trustees and chair of the Search Committee.

Gavin stated in the letter that the Search Committee is entering the final stage of the recruitment process. He also provided dates and a “sample schedule” for the candidates to meet with administration, faculty, staff, students and the Student Government Association (SGA).

The candidates will visit campus on Oct. 4, Oct. 6 and Oct. 7.

According to Gavin, the full names and resumes of each candidate will not be released until two days before the campus visits.

“There is agreement within the Search Committee that these candidates are capable of providing effective leadership for Marywood University,” Gavin stated in the memo.

He added that the Committee “anticipate[s] that Sister Mary will make her selection of the next Vice President shortly after the finalists’ visits.”

According to Dr. Brooke Cannon, a faculty member on the Search Committee, the Committee only makes recommendations for the final decision. Their role in the process is mainly to narrow the list of candidates down to the very best.

Dr. Cannon detailed the process, which started with crafting a job description. The Committee then solicited applications and discussed each candidate, settling on a short list of applicants to move forward in the process. This pool was then narrowed to three after a series of interviews.

Aiding the Search Committee for the next Vice President of Business Affairs is Academic Search, a firm that specializes in finding leadership for institutions of higher learning.

Cannon stressed that the company was fulfilling “a consulting role, not a role where they make any decisions.”

Gavin stated that faculty could contact the firm’s representative, Maya Kirkhope, with concerns.

“We are pleased with the progress of the search and look forward to this final phase,” Gavin concluded the memo.

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