Search-Related Announcements
Archive of announcements related to Kutztown University's President Search.
Final Kutztown University Presidential Search Profile
Updated: Dec. 9. 2024
Dear KU Campus Community,
We are excited to share the final Kutztown University Presidential Profile document that will be used to help recruit our next president. Since sharing the initial draft last week, we did a final proof of the copy and another check on a number of data points. Among the adjustments were clarification on commonwealth funding and university employee diversity data.
In addition, the profile is now complete with graphics and images touting our campus community and beautiful grounds (thanks to University Marketing for its assistance). The Presidential Profile can now be viewed publicly on our President Search website.
In addition, Storbeck Search, will use the document as a part of its direct recruitment efforts, which are now underway.
I will continue to keep you all posted as new updates become available, most likely at the beginning of the spring semester in late January. In the meantime, I wish you all a safe and joyous holiday season.
Sincerely,
Dennis Giorno
Chair, KU Council of Trustees
Chair, KU President Search Committee
Survey from the KU Presidential Search Committee
Dec. 2, 2024
Dear Kutztown University Community,
As we begin the process to identify the next President for Kutztown University, I am pleased to give you an update regarding what we have done, where we are now, and what the next steps in the process look like. Our search consultants, Susan Van Gilder and Steve Leo from Storbeck Search, were on campus before Thanksgiving and met with staff, faculty, students, administrators and alumni in several open forums.
For those who were not able to attend these sessions in person, we would like to hear from you! Please take a few minutes to complete this important survey and share your thoughts about the priorities, traits, experiences and practices that you think the next Kutztown University should possess. Your responses are confidential and will go directly to our search firm, where they will be aggregated and analyzed.
Thank you in advance for taking a few minutes to complete this survey.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KutztownPresidentSearchSurvey
In addition to filling out the survey, we invite you to nominate individuals whom you believe the committee should consider for President of Kutztown University by emailing names and information to KutztownPresident@storbecksearch.com.
The search committee is committed to being as transparent and communicative as possible. To this end, a presidential search website has been created, which will allow the search committee to provide updates and important information to the community. Included on the website is our recently approved position profile, along with the search committee membership list and other important information. We anticipate that the search will continue into the spring, with the goal of identifying a small group of candidates to invite to campus in late March or early April. We will be sharing more information as the process advances.
A search for a President requires a careful balance between transparency of the process and confidentiality, including individual candidates’ names, until we reach the finalist stage. We thank you for understanding that the best candidates require confidentiality and that the committee members have all agreed to abide by this rule.
Thank you for your support as we move forward with this important search.
Sincerely,
Dennis Giorno
Chair, Kutztown University Presidential Search Committee
Chair, Kutztown University Council of Trustees
Invitation from the Presidential Search Committee
Nov. 7, 2024
The following notice was sent to campus stakeholders on Nov. 7.
The search for the 13th president of Kutztown University is underway. The search committee leadership contracted Storbeck Search as the firm to assist our search committee with the process of identifying Kutztown University’s next leader.
One of the important aspects of the search is to solicit feedback on what we are seeking in our next president from various campus stakeholders. Storbeck will be on campus Thursday, Nov. 21, to hold input sessions with seven different stakeholder groups.
The following campus groups are invited to attend the following stakeholder input sessions with Storbeck representatives:
KU Presidential Search Stakeholder Sessions - Thursday, Nov. 21 - 250 McFarland Student Union
9 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Union Leadership (by invitation only)
10 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Extended Cabinet (by invitation only)
11 a.m. – noon Faculty
noon – 1 p.m. Community/Government Relations (by invitation only)
1 p.m. – 2 p.m. Staff
2:30 p.m. -3:30 p.m. Students
6 p.m. – 7 p.m. Alumni (this meeting will be conducted via Zoom)
Update from Presidential Search Committee
Oct. 23, 2024
After a thorough interview process, Storbeck Search has been selected by the KU Council of Trustee representatives as the search firm to assist with the upcoming KU Presidential Search. Storbeck will be on campus this week to meet with the search committee and select members of the administration. Storbeck will return in November to meet with and receive feedback from the KU campus community.
Matt Santos, University Relations and Athletics (staff liaison)
Council of Trustees Approve Presidential Search Committee at Thursday's September Meeting
Sept. 26, 2024
The Kutztown University Council of Trustees approved its presidential search committee membership to highlight the Council’s September board meeting Thursday afternoon, Sept. 26.
“On behalf of the Council of Trustees, I want to congratulate Dr. Hawkinson on his retirement decision and thank him for all he has done for this institution,” said Dennis Giorno, chair of the KU Council of Trustees. “We still have nine-plus months with Dr. Hawkinson to celebrate his tenure. In the meantime, the focus of the Council of Trustees this year will be to search for his successor. We began this process immediately after Dr. Hawkinson’s announcement and voted (Thursday) to approve a talented, expansive and diverse search committee (Thursday afternoon). Our plan is to identify a new president in April to begin in July.”
KU Presidential Search Update from Council of Trustees Chair Giorno
Sept. 5, 2024
Dear Kutztown University Community:
As you know, President Hawkinson has announced his intention to retire in the summer of 2025. I am writing to inform you of the process for selecting the next president of our university.
While the PASSHE Board of Governors—in consultation with the Chancellor—ultimately appoints the president, the search process is primarily driven at the university level. This is rightly so, because it is our students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends who will work most closely with whomever is chosen to fill the role.
I am pleased to report that the Chancellor has granted the KU Council of Trustees authorization to initiate the search process. According to commonwealth law, the Council has responsibility to “make recommendations to the Chancellor for the appointment of the president following input by students, faculty, staff and alumni who reflect the diversity of the institution,” and we take that duty seriously.
We will begin by appointing a search committee that is representative of the university community and its diverse range of stakeholders. The search committee will gather input from students, faculty, staff, alumni and other stakeholders and will make its recommendation to the Council of Trustees, which in turn will consider the options and transmit its recommendation to the Chancellor and Board of Governors. It is the Board of Governors that is responsible for appointing the university’s next president from the “name or names of individuals submitted by the Council of Trustees.”
We will now begin the work of constituting the Presidential Search Committee by identifying members according to PASSHE procedure and standards. The search committee will consist of a mix of students, faculty, staff, alumni and others, and I will be reaching out to the appropriate representative groups that are tasked with identifying some of those members.
To assist in guiding the operations of this search, I have appointed Matt Santos, KU’s vice president for University Relations & Athletics, as the staff liaison to the Council of Trustees and the Search Committee. Matt will serve as the point of contact for any questions and will be assisted by other university staff to support as needed. He may be contacted at santos@kutztown.edu.
We look forward to getting this process underway and working together to craft the next chapter in the life of this great University.
Sincerely,
Dennis A. Giorno
Chair