AGB Search Retained by Elizabethtown College to Find New President
October 16, 2026 – Washington, D.C.-based recruitment firm AGB Search has been retained by Elizabethtown College (Etown) to lead in its search for its 17th president. Melissa K. Trotta and Matthew J. Kilcoyne are leading the assignment. Current president Betty Rider will be retiring on June 30, 2027. The board of trustees is committed to conducting a thorough, inclusive, and forward-looking search that reflects the values and aspirations of the College community and will partner with a search firm to identify and evaluate candidates whose leadership experience, commitment to institutional values, and strategic vision align with Elizabethtown College’s mission and priorities.
“We are pleased to announce the committee has selected AGB Search, a national leader in executive search for higher education institutions,” said Thomas J. McGonigle, presidential search chair. “We look forward to partnering with AGB as we continue the important work and process to select the next president of Elizabethtown College. The presidential search committee is organizing a series of listening sessions across the campus community and is working with representative groups across Etown to ensure broad participation and input from College stakeholders.
“Over the past month, the presidential search committee has hosted and collected input from several listening sessions across our community and reviewed feedback shared through surveys and the presidential search email address,” Mr. McGonigle said. “Drawing on this extensive input, the committee developed a presidential search leadership profile outlining the opportunities and expectations for Etown’s next leader.”
“With the profile finalized, the presidential search committee is prepared to move forward with a clear direction,” Mr. McGonigle continued. “The next phase will include reviewing applications and initial rounds of interviews over the coming months. When the presidential search committee has decided on which candidates will advance to the final round, the structure of the final phase will be determined. Decisions regarding stakeholder involvement will balance candidate confidentiality with the College’s commitment to conducting a process that is as inclusive and transparent as possible.”
The next president will be a steady, disciplined and determined leader who is genuinely drawn to Etown, committed to its founding values and to the ethos of Educate for Service, and eager to build upon a distinctive position of institutional strength and marketplace momentum.
The next president of Etown will be an exceptional communicator and a disciplined listener — visible, accessible, warm and unpretentious — a servant leader prepared to be an engaged and visible participant in the civic and economic life of Elizabethtown and Lancaster County. The ideal candidate will articulate a genuine alignment with the College’s core values and the ethos of educate for service as a lived institutional practice rather than a statement of aspiration.
Related: AGB Search Seeking University of Illinois System President
Founded in 1899 by members of the Church of the Brethren, Etown offers undergraduate and graduate programs across areas such as business, education, engineering, health sciences, the humanities, and social sciences. The school emphasizes experiential learning, service, and career preparation, and enrolls students from a range of backgrounds while maintaining historical ties to its Brethren heritage.
Serving Clients Since 2010
AGB Search conducts searches for college and university presidents, chancellors, provosts, vice presidents, deans, university system heads, and CEOs of coordinating boards and related foundations. The firm was founded by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) in 2010.
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Dr. Trotta joined AGB Search as associate managing principal in 2017. She has spent more than 25 years in higher education administration at universities including Harvard, Georgetown and Johns Hopkins in leadership roles that spanned admissions and enrollment, program management, executive education, and strategic planning. She has partnered with institutions on searches for presidents, chief financial officers, chief information officers, deans, provosts, executive vice presidents/chief operating officers, and vice presidents and vice provosts for enrollment management, finance and administration, institutional research and university registrar services.
Mr. Kilcoyne joined AGB Search as a principal in January 2023. He has over 20 years of higher-education executive search experience, having completed over 250 searches. His search assignments for presidents, vice presidents and deans have focused on search committee and board relations; institutional analysis; marketing, candidate identification, recruitment, and evaluation; candidate due diligence; and selection and transition.
Related: AGB Search Assists Linfield University with the Recruitment of 21st President
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
