Presidential Search

The Board of Trustees has announced the search for the 17th president of Capital University. A Presidential Search Committee inclusive of student, faculty, staff, alumni and trustee representation was convened by the Board. WittKieffer, an executive search firm, has been retained to facilitate strategic recruitment.

Currently enrolling a diverse student body of nearly 3,500, Capital serves traditional undergraduates, graduate students, adult students completing a baccalaureate degree, and those in specific licensure or certification programs. The next president will be an exceptional leader who will engage, connect, and inspire the Capital Family. This president will work internally with our faculty, staff and students to continue to foster a thriving community and culture as well as represent the University externally as an advocate for partnerships to help us realize our vision and engage with our Columbus community.

Latest Updates

As you know, our presidential search kicked off with a meeting of the presidential search committee and multiple open forums/ listening sessions. Our commitment to delivering a high-quality, ambitious and diverse slate of candidates is paramount and we deeply appreciated thoughts and valuable perspectives of those of you who participated. We are embarking on a process that not only honors our values as a Cap Family but also positions Capital University for the best possible recruitment outcome. To that end, we want to summarize the approach the search committee and the Board of Trustees outlined for the process:

• Presidential candidates will remain completely confidential throughout the recruitment process, including during first-round interviews. To ensure candidates are thoroughly vetted, they will also participate in a second round of confidential interviews with the search committee. All search committee members will be signing a “code of ethics” which ensures the absolute confidentiality of all nominees, prospects and candidates.
• After the first two rounds of interviews, we will use an open approach for third-round finalist interviews, including open campus visits. Finalist candidates will be invited to make public appearances on campus to directly address all stakeholder groups.

Thank you again for your commitment to the university and its bright future. We wish you all a very Happy Holiday Season.

Andre Porter ’02, Presidential Search Co-Chair; Vice Chair, Capital University Board of Trustees
Marti Taylor ’86, Presidential Search Co-Chair; Member, Capital University Board of Trustees

Participate in the Process

Your participation in this process will be integral to our success in identifying Capital's next leader. To begin the process, consultants from WittKieffer conducted a number of listening sessions to allow all stakeholders to have a voice early on in the process. Faculty, administrators, staff, students, alumni, emeriti/retirees and community members were encouraged to attend one of the sessions and share their insight on topics such as key priorities; candidate profile; culture and values of Capital; major challenges facing the University; and key selling points about Capital. If you were unable to attend a listening session and would like to contribute feedback, we invite you to complete a brief survey:

Take the Survey

All feedback and questions are welcomed by the search committee. Please communicate to us via email at capitalpresident@wittkieffer.com.

Timeline

SEARCH PREPARATION

November: Engagement Meetings
WittKieffer consultants speak with key stakeholders to gather input for the leadership profile. Consultants meet with the search committee to review the search process and collect information for the leadership profile.

December: Leadership Profile Development
WittKieffer drafts leadership profile, search timeline, and recruitment strategy. Search Committee reviews and approves profile, timeline, and strategy.

RECRUITMENT AND CANDIDATE EVALUATION

December-February: Advertising, Recruitment, Screening
WittKieffer screens, recruits, and conducts initial interviews with prospective candidates. WittKieffer updates the search committee on the nature of the developing pool of applications and market feedback.

March: Search Committee Review of Candidate Materials
Search Committee reviews candidate materials and selects small group of candidates for first round interviews. WittKieffer verifies credentials and educational background of candidates of interest.

INTERVIEWING

Early April: First Round Candidate Interviews
Search Committee conducts in-person first round interviews of preliminary candidates using a structured interview guide. Committee identifies two to four finalists for second-round interviews.

Late April: Second Round Candidate Interviews
Candidates invited for second-round interviews. WittKieffer checks references and conducts assessments of finalists.

FINAL STAGES

Early May: Recommendation, Offer and Negotiation
Search Committee provides the Board of Trustees with feedback on finalists. The Board of Trustees selects the candidate of choice. Hiring authority makes an offer to the preferred candidate. Terms of the agreement are reached.

May/June: Announcement
Capital University will announce its next president.

Search Committee

The following individuals, representing Capital’s students, alumni, donors, faculty, staff, Board of Trustees and community, have agreed to serve on the search committee:

• Andre Porter, ’02 Co-Chair
• Marti Taylor ’86, Co-Chair
• Bernie Ostrowski, Chair, Board of Trustees
• Judy Leidy, Trustee, Chair of the Trinity Lutheran Seminary Advisory Board
• Belinda Jones ’86, L’94, Trustee
• Steve Wachtman ’85, S’92, Trustee
• Tyler Schleich ’04, M’05, Trustee, Past President Capital University Alumni Advisory Board
• Paul Chodak, Trustee
• Andrew Carlson, Professor & Chair, Department of History
• Jennifer Hodge, Professor & Director of Clinical Partnerships, Department of Education
• Garien Hudson, Director of Admission
• Mindy Hamel, Administrative Assistant, Communications
• Samantha Montanez ’20, Student Government President 2019-20
• Kathryn “Kit” Kleinhans, Dean, Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capital University
• Rachel Janutis, Dean, Capital University Law School
• Nona McGuire, Executive Assistant to the President & Liaison to the Board of Trustees (Ex-officio)

Prospectus

The prospectus for this position will be available soon.