5/24/17 - Committee Seeks Feedback from Alumni

Full Description

May 24, 2017

Dear W&M Alumni Community,

After nearly a decade as the 27th president of William & Mary, Taylor Reveley announced in April his plans to retire on June 30, 2018.

Rector Todd Stottlemyer '85 has appointed a 19-person presidential search committee to lead a national search for President Reveley's successor. The committee, chaired by Vice Rector H. Thomas Watkins III '74, comprises representatives from across the university community. It includes Board members who have held many university and campus leadership positions, faculty and staff members, a recent graduate and a current student leader. Eleven alumni, many of whom hold or have held campus leadership positions, are committee members.

The search committee is currently in full listening mode and is seeking feedback from W&M constituencies to learn what our community is looking for in the 28th president of the Alma Mater of the Nation. After obtaining as much feedback as possible, the search committee will draft a position description and leadership profile that will guide the committee and a search firm in conducting the national search. The goal is to select the next president by early 2018.

As an alumna or alumnus of William & Mary, your suggestions and feedback are invaluable. There are a couple of ways for you to interact with the search committee. You can email the committee at [[presidentialsearch]] or you can provide feedback on our website.

All comments from both sources are shared with the committee on a weekly basis. A third way to interact with the committee is to participate in regional alumni engagement events this summer, some of which may feature one or two members of the search committee.

You might want to consider these questions as you communicate with the search committee:

What should be the top priorities of the next president?
What are the most important characteristics for the next president to have to be successful?
What areas of experience should the next president have?
What are the greatest assets of W&M?
What are the areas of greatest challenge facing the next president?

As we continue the listening process, it is important to hear from the William & Mary community about the professional characteristics, experience and leadership style they want in our next president, as well as identifying the priorities they believe our next president should have. And it is essential our alumni are included in that process as much as possible.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions and feedback.

Sincerely,

H. Thomas Watkins '74, P '05, P '11

Vice Rector and Chair
Presidential Search Committee

Todd A. Stottlemyer '85, P '16

Rector and Vice Chair
Presidential Search Committee

Cynthia S. Jarboe '77

President
W&M Alumni Association