LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University Board of Trustees Chairman William T. Young announced that Susan Resneck Pierce, senior consultant with Academic Search, Inc., of Washington, D.C., has been retained to help conduct a national search for the university’s next president. Charles L. Shearer, Transylvania’s president since 1983, has announced his retirement effective June 30, 2010.
Academic Search is a leader in the design and implementation of search processes for college and university senior executives, having served over 1,000 institutions since 1976. Pierce recently assisted presidential searches for Furman University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Heidelberg University, Stephens College and Sweet Briar College. She served as president of the University of Puget Sound from 1992-2003. Like Transylvania, Puget Sound is a nationally ranked liberal arts college.
Pierce has already visited campus to meet with students, faculty, staff and the board’s executive committee to develop an institutional profile that will describe Transylvania’s strengths, challenges and opportunities and that will also define the criteria the search committee will use in judging candidates. Beginning in January, Pierce will seek nominations and applications from presidents and senior administrators at colleges and universities across the country, from national education and foundation officials and from Transylvania’s faculty, staff, students, trustees, alumni, parents and friends.
“The search committee will assure full consideration of all completed applications received by March 8, 2010, although the search will remain open until an appointment is made,” explained Young, who heads the search committee. “After March 8, the committee will narrow the candidate pool and will interview semi-finalists at an off-campus site.”
Transylvania, founded in 1780, is the nation’s sixteenth oldest institution of higher learning and is consistently ranked in national publications as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country.