AGB Search

About Us

AGB Search offers executive search, interim search, and compensation evaluation services exclusively for higher education institutions. Founded by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) in 2010, we have an unmatched understanding of the qualifications critical for effective higher education leadership.Our affiliation with AGB ensures clients receive access to valued governance resources and training, in addition to our highly-regarded search services.

AGB Search’s Executive Search Consultants have extensive experience in higher education search, and many have served in college and university leadership positions. We have a team of Associates and Research Associates who expertly manage the search and vetting process, and our staff serves as critical support to the search professionals. Our track record provides institutional search teams with the confidence that their search will be successful.

Our deep expertise, coupled with our commitment to our work, results in successful outcomes for both clients and candidates. We have completed more than 1,370 search assignments, more than 365 of which were Presidents or Chancellors. Fifty percent of our appointments are women or people of color, and 93 percent of our appointments stay in their positions for at least five years.

Achievements

Recent Assignments

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Most of our search consultants are former presidents or senior executives of public and private four-year institutions, state and university systems, and community colleges.

AGB Search

Solutions And Expertise

Our deep expertise, coupled with our commitment to our work, results in successful outcomes for both clients and candidates. We have completed more than 1,370 search assignments, more than 365 of which were Presidents or Chancellors. Fifty percent of our appointments are women or people of color, and 93 percent of our appointments stay in their positions for at least five years.

Solutions
  • Anti-Bias Training
  • Behavioral and Cognitive Assessment
  • Compensation Consulting
  • Executive Coaching
  • Executive Compensation
  • Executive Search
  • Interim
  • Interim Search
  • Interim Staff and Consultants
  • Interim Staffing
  • Leadership Consulting
  • Leadership Develop.
  • Personality Assessment
  • Presidential Transition Support
Industries
  • Associations
  • Colleges/Universities
  • Foundations
  • Higher Education
  • Non-Profits
Functions
  • Administration & Finance
  • Advancement
  • Advancement & Foundations
  • Community College Leaders
  • Foundations
  • Presidents & Chancellors
  • Provosts & Deans
  • Research
  • Research & Develop.

AGB Search

News Briefings

AGB Search Assists Linfield University with the Recruitment of 21st President

Washington, D.C.-based recruitment firm AGB Search, which specializes in higher education leadership assignments, has assisted in the recruitment of Mark Blegen as the 21st president of Linfield University. He will assume leadership from interim president Rebecca Johnson in July. Linfield’s 20th president, Miles K. Davis, departed in December 2023.  Consultants Loren Anderson and Shannon McCambridge spearheaded the assignment. The announcement comes after a 10-month search co-chaired

AGB Search Seeking Chancellor for the University of Colorado Denver

Washington, D.C.-based recruitment firm AGB Search, which specializes in higher education leadership assignments, was recently retained by the University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) to lead in its search for a new chancellor.  Roderick McDavis, Monica Burton, Kimberly Templeton, and Carlos Hernandez are leading the assignment. The chancellor is the campus’s chief executive officer, reports to the CU

Savannah State University Taps AGB Search to Find New President

Washington, D.C.-based recruitment firm AGB Search, which specializes in higher education leadership assignments, has been retained by Savannah State University (SSU) to lead in its search for a new president. Principal Kim Bobby and executive search consultant Gwendolyn Boyd are leading the assignment. Cynthia Robinson Alexander is the interim president of Savannah State. She assumed the role last year,

AGB Search Recruits 8th President for Mount Saint Mary College

Washington, D.C.-based recruitment firm AGB Search, which specializes in higher education leadership assignments, recently assisted in the recruitment of Robert Gervasi as the eighth president of Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, NY. Current president Jason Adsit announced that he has decided not to seek a renewal when his current contract expires at the end of the 2023-24 academic year. Melissa

AGB Search

Press Releases

AGB Search Continues Growth with New Executive Search Consultants

New consultants bring a diverse wealth of experience to higher education searches WASHINGTON, D.C., August 14, 2023 – AGB Search, a national leader in higher education executive search, continues to grow its roster of executive search consultants. During its 2022-2023 fiscal year, the firm has brought on nearly a dozen experts in higher education leadership

AGB Search Welcomes Matthew Kilcoyne As Principal

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 11, 2023 – AGB Search, a national leader in higher education executive search, has announced the appointment of Matthew Kilcoyne as the firm’s newest principal. Kilcoyne brings extensive higher education executive search experience to the firm, having served as consultant, speaker and panelist in the field for over 20 years. Kilcoyne’s executive

AGB Search Announces Recent Leadership Appointments

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 23, 2022 – AGB Search, a national leader in higher education executive search, is pleased to announce the following recent appointments: Benedict College has appointed Akilah Carter-Francique as the new dean of education. Carter-Francique joins Benedict College after serving as executive director for the Institute for the Study of Sport, Society and

AGB Search Explores The Role of Chief Diversity Officers in Higher Education – Voices from the Academy episode features Rider University Chief Diversity Officer Barbara J. Lawrence

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 20, 2022 – AGB Search, a national leader in higher education executive search, examines the challenges and successes of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts at colleges and universities with the newest installment of its video series Voices from the Academy. The series features higher education leaders who are meeting today’s challenges

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Multimedia

Podcasts

Cultivating the Higher Education Leadership Pipeline

In this brand new episode of ‘Talent Talks,’ Hunt Scanlon Media host Rob Adams is joined by Dr. Rod McDavis, managing principal of AGB Search and former President of Ohio University; and Dr. Nancy Zimpher, Chancellor Emerita, State University of New York. Together, Drs. McDavis and Zimpher founded the AGB Institute for Leadership & Governance

Blogs

Human Resources in Higher Education: A Renewed Appreciation

Videos

AGB Search

Voices from the Academy Video Series

President Joan Gabel, University of Minnesota
Dr. M. Brian Blake (Part 1), George Washington University; COVID, Black Lives Matter
Dr. M. Brian Blake (Part 2); George Washington University; Enrollment & Campus Engagement
Dr. M. Brian Blake (Part 3), George Washington University; The Role of Provost
President Keith Whitfield, University of Nevada, Las Vegas