Franklin College officials know exactly what they want in their next leader; they just have to find them.
College officials developed a leadership profile, outlining the qualities they’d like to see in the school’s next president.
President Thomas J. Minar will leave his position on July 1 after five years at the helm of the college.
The leadership profile, a 19-page document on the college’s website, discusses the history of Franklin College and what it looks like today, including the campus and its buildings and its recently redesigned curriculum. The profile also includes sections on the college’s strategic plan, its undergraduate academics and graduate programs, development and alumni engagement, and a break down on the opportunities and expectations that come with being the college’s 17th president.
With the leadership profile in place, the school has started receiving applications. It will conduct interviews in January and February, and will likely name its next president in March, said Jim Due, board president.
“During the first few months, they’ll work with Minar to prepare,” Due said. “The challenge could be if they’re currently employed and have to finish that role. They will collaborate with Minar more than likely from afar.”
School officials expect the next president to work with college faculty, staff, alumni and trustees to build on the strategies for the college’s future, including building on its new curriculum and increasing learning opportunities for students both inside and outside the campus, according to the leadership profile.
The new president will also be expected to increase alumni engagement, work on strategies to grow the college’s endowment, grow the student body and retain students who are currently enrolled, as well as build relationships that increase the number of people who know about Franklin College, the profile said.
The college is looking for candidates who have previous administrative leadership experience, including dealing with finances and building relationships with businesses, governments and community partners. School officials would also like to see someone who has managed a decent-sized organization centered on inclusiveness, according to the profile. Franklin College has about 1,000 full-time students, according to its website.
To create the leadership profile, the college’s search committee, composed of trustees, faculty, staff and alumni, worked with Isaacson, Miller, a national search firm based in Boston that the school hired.
The search firm has met with Franklin College staff, students, friends of the college, donors, community leaders and regional leaders, Due said in October.
Those meetings gave the search committee and firm a better idea of the goals they needed to focus on in selecting a new president, Due said.
“It was very much the typical leadership characteristics in today’s environment of higher education,” Due said. “The focus on improving enrollment and fiscal management.”
Since creating the leadership profile, the college has received a steady stream of applications, he said.
“I would say there has been a strong response,” Due said.
The college has put ads in The Chronical of Higher Education, Diverse Issues, Inside Higher Education, and journals for various minority groups, Due said.
