WittKieffer Assists Loyola Marymount University in Finding New President
April 11, 2025 – Oak Brook, IL-based WittKieffer has assisted in the recruitment of Thomas Poon as the 17th president of Loyola Marymount University (LMU). He will succeed Timothy Law Snyder, beginning in the role on June 1, 2025. Suzanne Teer, Philip Tang, and Alejandra Gillette-Teran led the assignment. Similarly to the last two presidents, Dr. Poon is not a Jesuit. Notably, he is the first person of color to serve as LMU’s president. Dr. Poon’s appointment follows a comprehensive national search led by the LMU presidential search committee, with robust engagement from trustees, regents, students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
“President-elect Thomas Poon puts students, faculty and staff at the center of his decisions,” said Paul Viviano, LMU board of trustees chair. “With reverence for LMU’s values and the courage to meet the demands of a changing world, he will guide our university to new heights in academic distinction, visibility and global engagement. After a robust search, this decision confirmed what many already knew: Poon is a mission-driven leader of character, clarity and consequence.”
“President-elect Poon is a perfect selection to lead LMU into its future with boldness and clarity,” said Timothy Law Snyder, LMU’s 16th president. “His vision is expansive, his leadership grounded in mission, and his commitment to inclusive excellence unwavering. Under his guidance, LMU will set new standards for how a values-based, innovative, and globally engaged Catholic university can thrive.”
“Dr. Poon is a distinguished scholar and academic leader, and I look forward to working with him,” said Most Reverend José H. Gomez, archbishop of Los Angeles. “It is a noble calling to lead a Catholic university. I pray that God will grant Dr. Poon humility, wisdom, and the courage to serve from the heart of the Church, guiding students to seek all that is beautiful, good, and true, and inspiring them to build a society that promotes the sanctity and dignity of the human person created in God’s image.”
Dr. Poon currently serves at the university’s executive vice president and provost and has since 2017. Prior to LMU, he held multiple leadership roles at Pitzer College and was a faculty member at Pitzer, Claremont McKenna College, Scripps College, Columbia University and Randolph-Macon College.
LMU educates more than 10,000 students from over 100 countries, offering 56 majors, 56 minors, 45 master’s programs, three doctoral degrees, a juris doctorate, and 12 credential programs across its seven colleges and schools. LMU is supported by an annual operating budget of $689 million and it generates nearly $1.4 billion in total economic output in the U.S.
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WittKieffer assists hospitals, health systems, academic medical centers, medical schools, and physician groups; biotech, pharmaceutical, diagnostics and medical device companies; colleges and universities, and not-for-profit community service and cultural organizations with senior administrative recruiting assignments. With more than 100 search professionals nationwide, its consultants recruit CEOs, CFOs, COOs, CNOs, physician executives, and other leaders.
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Based in New Mexico, Ms. Teer supports leadership searches for presidents, vice presidents, provosts, deans and other key roles across all academic areas, with particular expertise in science, research-oriented and engineering-related searches as well as advancement and philanthropy searches. Her clients include top-tier research universities, independent research institutes, public regional universities and leading private universities. Ms. Teer brings to her search work extensive experience in fundraising within the field of education spanning top-tier research universities, academic medical centers, liberal arts colleges and independent schools. Prior to joining WittKieffer in 2016, she spent 20 years with the University of California raising funds to support the physical and biomedical sciences.
Mr. Tang works on behalf of the nation’s leading universities and health sciences institutions to recruit senior executives and academic leaders. An interdisciplinary specialist, he conducts searches for presidents, provosts, academic deans and cabinet-level roles. Mr. Tang manages WittKieffer’s leading public health portfolio, routinely placing deans, directors and chairs who strengthen not only their institutions but also their communities, advancing health equity, and improving population health. As leader of the firm’s online and digital education practice, Mr. Tang helps universities across the nation recruit chief online officers to steward their distance education strategies and catalyze academic and pedagogical innovation using digital technology. Previously, he was a vice provost at Johns Hopkins University.
Ms. Gillette-Teran is based in Los Angeles. Before joining WittKieffer, she was a senior associate with a boutique executive search firm specializing in the not-for-profit sector. In this position, she orchestrated executive-level searches in the fields of higher education, health and human services, and arts and culture. She excelled at developing targeted recruitment strategies that resulted in robust and diverse candidate pools. Prior to this, she served as assistant director of undergraduate admission at the University of Southern California.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
