Greenwood /Asher & Associates Assists in Search for President of Eastern Illinois University
January 11, 2023 – Miramar Beach, FL-based executive recruitment firm Greenwood /Asher & Associates is helping to place the next president for Eastern Illinois University (EIU) in Charleston, IL. Leading the assignment are Betty Turner Asher, co-founder of the search firm, and Julie Schrodt, senior executive search consultant. Last October, current EIU president David Glassman announced that he would be retiring in June after serving in the role since 2015. Last Friday, the university announced that the search had been narrowed to four finalists: Jay Gatrell, EIU’s vice president of academic affairs; David Brennen, former dean of the University of Kentucky’s David Rosenberg College of Law; Diana Rogers-Adkinson, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania; and Michael Godard, provost at Southeast Missouri State University.
Each candidate will have day-long interviews with dedicated sessions for EIU staff, faculty, students, and the external community on various days this month.
Key Responsibilities
The president, who serves as the chief executive officer of the university, is responsible for overall leadership and management of the institution, its academic enterprise, a Div.1 athletics program, fundraising, and mobilization of all constituents including faculty, alumni, staff, students, community, corporate, foundation, and local and state government leaders to meet the institutional and regional goals.
Eastern Illinois University’s president will be expected to lead the continuing transformation of the university as it achieves further academic advances and propel the institution among the state’s top choices for universities. Under the president’s leadership, university affairs are conducted in keeping with state laws and the policies and procedures established by the board.
The ideal candidate must display expertise in leadership, financial management, strategic planning, and legislative relations, said Greenwood /Asher & Associates. He or she should also be a resilient problem solver who can successfully implement innovative solutions to respond to the challenges facing universities today. Prospects must also have a successful record of academic leadership and executive experience.
A strong commitment to student success and innovative teaching practices involving students of every intersectional cultural background is critical to the role. Candidates should have excellent communication and interpersonal skills and a demonstrated track record in collaborating with faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community stakeholders to achieve the university’s mission.
Founded in 1895, Eastern Illinois University is a public comprehensive university. Students learn the methods and results of free and rigorous inquiry in the arts, humanities, sciences, and professions, guided by a faculty known for its excellence in teaching, research, creative activity, and service. The university, which has an enrollment of 7,415, offers 51 undergraduate degree programs, 32 graduate degree programs, and 10 post-baccalaureate certificate programs.
A Women-Owned Search Firm
Greenwood / Asher & Associates is a women-owned executive search firm with a diverse consulting team and extensive experience in executive search, consulting, and training for education markets including elementary, secondary, higher education, university systems, campuses and non-profit organizations including associations, service, and cultural institutions.
The firm, led by founders and partners Jan Greenwood and Betty Turner Asher, was acquired in 2020 by Kelly Education, a global leader in workforce management solutions offering staffing services to top companies.
Academic Sector Pumping Big Fees Into Search Firms
Academic institutions continue to pump big fees into the coffers of executive search firms nationwide. Many academic recruiting specialists say business, in fact, has never been better. Even smaller recruiting outfits have multiple assignments running concurrently, all at the senior levels, and if there’s any slowdown coming it is to be found at the talent identification stage. With so much activity, it seems, talent demand is far outstripping the supply.
Dr. Greenwood is a pioneer in U.S. higher education, as the first woman president of a public four-year and graduate institution in Virginia and as among the first to hold multiple presidencies for both public and private institutions. The library at one of these institutions is named in her honor. She was one of the earliest executive recruiters focused on education and non-profit organizations. Dr. Greenwood is a licensed psychologist with experience as a psychometrist and with post-doctoral training in group methods. She brings these skillsets to her work with clients, candidates, and search committees.
Dr. Asher, who is also vice president and managing partner of Kelly Education, was one of the first women to serve as president of a flagship institution. She brings to executive search, consulting and training a unique background of leadership service at all levels of higher education institutions and systems, in academics and student affairs and in public and private institutions. She has been a leader in executive search, consulting and training for the past two decades. Ms. Asher has led more than 500 searches, most at the president/CEO level.
Ms. Schrodt ‘s responsibilities include coordinating the development of the search, recruiting candidates, referencing, and presenting a qualified candidate pool of candidates to the search committee. Previously she was executive director of strategic communications at Northwest Florida State College.
Related: Greenwood / Asher & Associates Assists Clemson University with CHRO Search
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
