Presidential Search Committee Named

Trustees, faculty, staff, and students appointed to committee to search for a new president.

June 6, 2018

Reed's Board of Trustees has announced the appointment of members to the presidential search committee. In an email to the community, Chair of the Board Roger M. Perlmutter ’73 said "I am delighted to inform you that Reed College Trustee Alex Martinez ’73, a distinguished jurist and retired Justice of the Colorado State Supreme Court, has agreed to chair the search for Reed's next president."

Perlmutter announced that Trustees Konrad Alt ’81, Adrienne Nelson, Peggy Noto ’75, Dylan Rivera ’95, and Peter Stockman ’77 have also agreed to serve on the committee. Additionally six faculty were nominated by the faculty Committee on Advancement and Tenure: Associate Professor Mark Burford (music); Thormund A. Miller & Walter Mintz Professor Kim Clausing (economics); Associate Professor Sameer Khan (linguistics); Professor Susan Renn (biology); Associate Professor Sonia Sabnis (classics and humanities); Professor Paul Silverstein (anthropology).

Lorraine Arvin, Reed's Vice President and Treasurer, and Alice Harra, Associate Dean of Students and Director of the Center for Life Beyond Reed, "have agreed to serve as full voting members of the committee to represent the perspectives of staff members in the search process."

Two students will also be full voting members: Student Body President Nikhita Airi ’18 and incoming Assistant Student Body Treasurer Frank Gaunt ’18.

Mary James, Dean for Institutional Diversity and A.A. Knowlton Professor of Physics, and Perlmutter will together serve as ex officio members of the search committee.

Perlmutter said that "during the next several weeks, under Alex Martinez's direction, the search committee will develop a detailed schedule for their work, which over time will involve the selection of search consultants, solicitations of interest from potential candidates, and, ultimately, the selection of a short list of candidates based upon detailed review of their qualifications. Critical to the success of this plan will be meetings with all campus constituencies, who together will help inform the preparation of a position statement that provides a thorough assessment of Reed's strengths and a lucid summary of those areas where our next president could best apply their efforts to advance the goals of the college. Alex will have a great deal more to say about the search process in the weeks and months to come, and he will provide frequent updates to the community."

He added that he is "deeply grateful to all members of the Presidential Search Committee—faculty, staff, students, and trustees—for their important service to the college."

Follow news and updates on the presidential search website.

Long-serving Vice President Hugh Porter will serve as acting president effective July 1, 2018. 

Tags: Campus Life, Institutional