Feb. 22, 2021
We are pleased to report that the search for our new president is progressing very well and on schedule.
The Search Committee met Feb. 8 to select a small of group of qualified candidates whose background and experience seem especially consistent with the experience and leadership attributes established for the search. These semi-final candidates were invited to advance in the search. Committee members have been interviewing the references for these candidates, and this week we are embarking on preliminary virtual interviews with the candidates themselves.
Following the completion of the preliminary interviews, the Search Committee will select finalists who will be asked to participate in more extensive final interviews. Although it is our hope that these interviews will be able to occur on-campus, current COVID requirements will dictate how the interviews are conducted. These interviews will occur the week of March 15.
We are pleased with the progress of our search and look forward to learning more about our advancing candidates. If you have any questions, please direct them to me at elizasmithbrown@outlook.com, or you may contact one of our consultants: Dr. Loren Anderson at loren.anderson@agbsearch.com or Shannon McCambridge at shannon.mccambridge@agbsearch.com. These conversations and any information you provide will be held in confidence.
We will correspond again as soon as possible following the conclusion of our preliminary interviews with the semi-finalist candidates. In the meantime, thank you for your continued interest and support!
Jan. 29, 2021
I write once again to update you on the Presidential Search Process.
The Search Committee completed its anti-bias training on Thurs., Jan. 7 and held its most recent meeting on Thurs., Jan. 21. At this meeting the Committee updated the search timetable and schedule and reviewed the criteria by which each application will be assessed. The Committee also adopted an assessment rubric that will be used by Committee members when evaluating the written applications, and then participated in an assessment exercise.
Over the next few weeks, the Committee will be focused on evaluating the applications that have been received. This process will continue until the Committee meets to select a short list of semi-finalists Feb. 8.
The Search Committee is continuing to receive nominations and applications for the position. A number of you have already submitted names, and we encourage all of you to review the search profile again and to send your suggestions to our AGB Search Consultants at loren.anderson@agbsearch.com or shannon.mccambridge@agbsearch.com. Loren and Shannon will follow up directly with all prospects nominated.
We thank you all again for your continuing support of the search process. Watch for our next report regarding the progress of our search in early February!
Dec. 14, 2020
Our search is officially launched!
The Presidential Search Committee met Thurs., Dec. 10, to review and approve the Search Profile that will guide this effort. The profile is informed by the online survey and the listening sessions conducted with members of the community earlier this month by our consultants—Dr. Loren Anderson and Shannon McCambridge of AGB Search. Particular thanks go to Melissa Logan in our PTS Office of Communications, who worked closely with the consultants and Committee to finalize this document.
We then announced the search Fri. Dec. 11 and went public with the profile, which is now available online (see above). We will be casting a wide national net, which will include exploring close to a thousand contacts in our collective networks.
Once again, we are asking for your input. The Committee urges all of you to review the profile and to reflect on the leadership opportunities and qualifications described in it. Then we encourage you to suggest the names of individuals who might serve effectively as our new President, or others who might know of potential candidates. The name(s) and contact information for potential candidates and/or nominators may be sent to a general mailbox at PTSPresident@agbsearch.com or to our individual consultants at loren.anderson@agbsearch.com or shannon.mccambridge@agbsearch.com. The success of our search depends on building a strong and diverse pool of able and interested candidates, and your suggestions and nominations are a key part of that effort.
The weeks of December and January will be used to generate a candidate pool through nominations received from you and educational and church leaders across the country, a national program of targeted advertisements, and the work of our consultants. The Search Committee will then begin reviewing applications in January. In early February, the Search Committee will narrow the candidate pool in preparation for preliminary interviews. Campus interviews are anticipated in March.
The search is off to a strong start. I will send a further update following our next Committee meeting in January.
PTS Presidential Search Committee
- Eliza Smith Brown, Chair
- Daniel Aleshire
- Leanna Fuller
- David McClenahan
- Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi
- Roger Owens
- Tracy Riggle Young
- Darren Rogers
- Drew Smith
- Greg Spencer
Jim Gockley, Board Chair, ex officio
Andy Greenhow, Secretary to the Board of Directors, committee staff
Dec. 2, 2020
This has been a busy week for the search! Many thanks to all who completed the online survey and to those who participated in one of the nine listening sessions with Loren Anderson and Shannon McCambridge, our consultants from AGB Search. Your input has been invaluable as we craft the Institutional and Position Profile. What Loren and Shannon have heard from you reflects both your keen perceptions as to who we are as a seminary and your thoughtful ideas as to who we might become with the leadership of our next president. For all of that input, on behalf of the entire Search Committee, please accept my heartfelt thanks. And there will be additional ways for you to stay involved.
We are currently working on the Profile and a dedicated search page on the PTS website, both of which will be reviewed by the Committee at its Dec. 10 meeting in preparation for a public launch no later than Dec. 14. Recognizing that this is a very busy time for all, we will be offering a series of quick 15-minute zoom updates for various constituencies the week of Dec. 14. Watch for an invitation to one of those meetings, where we will present the Profile that you helped to inform and review the process ahead.
Beyond the launch, the timeline will play out as follows:
- Week of Jan. 4: Search Committee engages in anti-bias workshop
- Week of Jan. 18: Search Committee meets to evaluate applications to date
- Feb. 1: Deadline for applications
- Week of Feb. 1: Search Committee meets to select semi-finalist candidates and establish interview process
- Week of Feb. 15 or 22: Preliminary interviews with semi-finalists
- Week of March 8 or 15: Campus interviews for finalists with various campus constituents
- Week of March 15 or 22: Search Committee meets to review campus interviews/feedback and develop recommendations for Board of Directors
- April: Selection of new president
Nominations can be submitted to PTSPresident@agbsearch.com, loren.anderson@agbsearch.com, or shannon.mccambridge@agbsearch.com. Loren and Shannon will follow up directly with all prospects nominated. Once again, the Search Committee is grateful to you all for being so forthcoming in sharing your thoughts. In turn, our commitment to you is that we will report to you after each meeting of the Committee so that you can stay apprised of the process as it unfolds. One of our primary goals is to ensure that the community is connected to this journey at several key moments along the way. To summarize, those include:
- Online survey results from 134 individuals (completed)
- Nine listening sessions with more than 60 individuals (completed)
- Updates to present the Institutional and Position Profile (week of Dec. 14)
- Nomination of prospects to the search consultants (ongoing through the end of January)
- Finalists’ campus visits and interviews (week of March 8 or 15)
- Regular memos from the Search Committee
We’re excited for what’s to come. Stay tuned.
Eliza Smith Brown, Chair
Nov. 24, 2020
Dear PTS Community,
The Presidential Search Committee met most recently on Fri., Nov.20. At this meeting, the committee reviewed the Charge to the Committee, adopted a schedule and timetable, and spent time discussing the search profile that will guide the search, including a statement of the leadership opportunities offered by the Seminary, as well as the leadership qualities and experiences that will describe the successful candidate for the presidency.
The weeks immediately ahead will be focused on completing the search profile. As a part of that process, our AGB Search consultants, Loren Anderson and Shannon McCambridge, will be hosting a series of virtual listening sessions for members of the community on November 30 and Dec. 1. You should have received an invitation to participate in one of these sessions. If you have any questions about the times available for you, please contact Andy Greenhow. You should also have received a link for an electronic survey about seminary priorities and the skills, experience, character and leadership style we should be seeking in our next president. Thank you very much for completing the survey; your responses are helpful input into the search profile.
The search will officially launch on Dec.11, and the weeks of December and January will focus on building the candidate pool. The Search Committee expects to conduct a round of initial interviews in February, and to invite finalists for campus interviews in early March.
The Search Committee is well aware that our search will be strengthened by the involvement and support of the Seminary community. We hope you will plan to attend a campus listening session and, when the search goes public on Dec.11, we hope that you will review the search profile and forward the names of potential candidates to PTSPresident@agbsearch.com or to our AGB Search consultants:
- Loren Anderson at loren.anderson@agbsearch.com
- Shannon McCambridge at shannon.mccambridge@agbsearch.com
We will report to the campus community again following our next Search Committee meeting on December 10. We thank you in advance for your support and your engagement in this important process.
Sincerely,
Eliza Smith Brown, Chair
