Emory University Taps Two Search Firms for Top Posts
October 24, 2016 – Heidrick & Struggles and Neumann Executive Search Partners have been retained by Emory University to fill the college’s provost/chief academic officer and EVP business & administration positions, respectively. Emory’s search committee is looking for visionaries to make it the go-to place for policymakers, students and researchers.
The provost search advisory committee — co-chaired by professors Carol Anderson and Carlos del Rio — will work with search consultants from Heidrick & Struggles to identify a slate of experienced candidates for Emory’s seventh provost and chief academic officer.
The committee will identify and interview applicants throughout the fall and early spring semesters and present three or four final candidates to the president, with the expectation that Emory’s next provost will be identified in the early spring.
As the provost search evolves, the search for the dean of Emory College of Arts and Sciences will be launched with the hope that this leader will be identified before the summer of 2017. A casting call date to identify a search firm to handle this position has not yet been chosen.
Chaired by Steve Sencer, Emory’s senior vice president and general counsel, the search advisory committee for the EVP business & administration position will work with Neumann Executive Search to identify qualified candidates for Emory’s chief business and administrative role.
The EVP role oversees all business, financial and administrative units of the university, including campus services, finance, human resources, information technology, internal audit and investment management.
The search committee involved in this assignment will present three or four candidates to the president. The timeline will be similar to that of the provost search, with the expectation that the EVP business & administration appointment will be announced during the spring semester next year.
The Search Firms
Heidrick’s higher education specialty team uses a global network of partners to identify and place individuals who bring the management skills and creativity required to accomplish educational missions. The practice conducts higher education searches at public and private colleges and universities, including system head, chancellor, president, vice chancellor, vice president, provost, vice provost and deans, as well as functional roles to include chief financial officer, chief information officer, vice president of human resources, vice president of advancement and general counsel.
The team at Neumann Executive Search Partners brings decades of experience recruiting senior individuals to renowned colleges and universities across the U.S. It partners with clients to identify and attract leaders who are ready and able to help define and advance the mission and vision of the institutions they join. The firm is currently leading searches for Yale University, University of Rochester, Northeastern University, and Clark University.
Storied University
Founded in 1836, Emory University is a research university in metropolitan Atlanta. It is the second oldest private institution of higher education in Georgia and among the 50 oldest private universities in the U.S. It is 18th among the list of colleges and universities in the U.S. ranked by endowment, 21st among universities in the world by ranked by endowment, and 21st in U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 National Universities Rankings.
In June, Spencer Stuart assisted Emory in its president search when the school selected Claire Sterk, its former provost and EVP for academic affairs, as its first female president.
Chancellors In High Demand
The hunt for university leadership is heating up — especially the search for chancellors.
Isaacson, Miller has just taken on the chancellor search for The University of California, Davis. Past chancellor Linda P. B. Katehi resigned amid allegations that she used university money to eliminate negative online search results about the institution.
Executive search firm Greenwood / Asher & Associates just placed Robert Jones as chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). With more than 30 years of experience in public higher education, Mr. Jones came the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY) where he served as president.
“It is no wonder that universities and institutions of higher learning are turning to executive search firms in droves to fill their top roles,” said Diversified Search CEO Dale Jones. At a time with many academic leaders are retiring or leaving their posts to pursue other interests, he said, competition to replace them is intense.
“Recruiters have the requisite skills to manage a process that at times can be unwieldy, but more importantly they can help to expand a university’s reach and use their well-honed assessment skills to find the very best leaders in and out of higher education,” said Mr. Jones.
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media
