Presidential Search Profile is Released as Committee Presents Update

November 1, 2015

Based on input from the DePauw University community, the committee charged with identifying DePauw's 20th president has created a Presidential Search Profile, which is available here.

"We have heard from many in our community, and the feedback from these conversations provided us with important perspectives about the qualities we should be looking for in our next president," says Kathy Patterson Vrabeck '85 in a note to the DePauw University community. "We also heard a lot about what makes DePauw distinctive, and what issues and opportunities we are likely to encounter in a changing environment for higher education."

Vrabeck, a member of DePauw's Board of Trustees, was appointed to lead the presidential search after the University's current president, Brian W. Casey, announced in August that he will be leaving DePauw in July 2016 to assume the presidency of Colgate University.

"This document will be used by the search committee and Isaacson, Miller -- the firm that is assisting DePauw with this process -- as we discuss prospective presidential candidates," Vrabeck notes. "I invite you to review this profile, which expresses attributes that make DePauw such a special place for all of us. The profile illustrates DePauw’s assets and aspirations, attempting to balance the University’s many strengths with anticipated challenges facing the institution in the years to come."

She adds, "In the next phase of our search, the committee will focus increasingly on the consideration of specific candidates. By necessity, and out of the respect for prospective candidate requests for confidentiality, we are limited in what we can communicate during this part of the process. It remains our plan to begin interviewing candidates in early 2016 with a goal of announcing DePauw’s 20th president in the early spring. We remain confident and optimistic in our ability to attract the strongest possible candidates during the search process."