By Meg DePanise<\/p>\n
Two representatives from R.H. Perry met with interested Hood students last week to gather input for the search for Hood\u2019s 11th president.<\/p>\n
On Sept. 17 and Sept. 18 Matt Kilcoyne and Jean Scott, the R.H. Perry representatives who are leading the presidential search process, talked with students about what attributes they think are most important for the next president.<\/p>\n
In an email sent on Sept. 10 to all undergraduate and graduate students, administration provided details about the search for Hood\u2019s next president who will succeed President Ronald J. Volpe. In May, President Volpe announced that he would retire after this summer\u2019s Convocation to close his 14th year at Hood.<\/p>\n
The process began with the selection of the executive search firm, R.H. Perry & Associates, along with a 13-member committee encompassing four college trustees, two faculty members, a staff member, an alumna and a current student. Three of the four trustees on the search committee are also alumnae of the college.<\/p>\n
In the past weeks, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and donors have met with the R.H. Perry team and the members of the Presidential Search Committee. Everyone\u2019s contributions will go into creating a profile for Hood\u2019s next president.<\/p>\n
About seven students attended the Sept. 17 afternoon meeting in the Whitaker Campus Commons. Many students identified some weaknesses of Hood as failing to engage the graduate, international, and commuter student\u2019s in campus activities and the career center\u2019s reputation for ineffectiveness.<\/p>\n
Students said that they appreciate the closeness with their professors and President Volpe but they can\u2019t say the same about their relationship with the financial aid, registrar, and career center faculty. \u201cHe\u2019s driving around in his golf cart, you see him everywhere, he\u2019ll eat dinner with you; that\u2019s really nice and our faculty is the same way,\u201d sophomore Logan Samuels said. She continued: \u201cEveryone\u2019s like don\u2019t go to the career center, use Google to find your internship and don\u2019t rely on these people which is horrible\u2026I would definitely want them to have a better reputation if that\u2019s something we could focus on.\u201d<\/p>\n
All of the students that attended Thursday\u2019s meeting expressed how much they value President Volpe\u2019s strong presence on campus. \u201cAn important thing about being president is being personable and being able to connect with your students,\u201d communications and English student Kassy Stout said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I hope carries on to the next president; that they\u2019re very open and they\u2019re fun to hang out with if you see them on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ryan DiGirmolamo agreed: \u201cI think it\u2019s very important for people that are here and people who are considering Hood to realize how accessible our president actually is. The fact that he lives on campus is something that\u2019s really important; I\u2019m a tour guide so I always mention that and the parents are always really impressed and the students also.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students expressed concerns about the large number of faculty that left Hood over the summer. \u201cOur provost changed a lot of things and then left last year, our head of athletics left, and now we have a rent-a-provost so it\u2019s kind of scary to see all the change happening at once and it would definitely be good to have some consistency,\u201d Samuels said.<\/p>\n
Students agreed that Hood\u2019s 11th president must be visible and accessible on campus. Many also said they want more transparency regarding where donated funds are going on campus, they want to know they have a say in the decisions that affect them at the college, and they want to understand what exactly the president\u2019s role is.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith regards to the decision making process of the new president, our four pillars of Hood are hope, obligation, opportunity, democracy, and I think the democracy part is really important and it\u2019s sometimes overlooked in decision making,\u201d junior Eric Stone said. \u201cObviously I know that the student body isn\u2019t going to overrule the president but I think it\u2019s really important to take into account how people feel about certain issues and not just kind of override that based on what\u2019s best at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students like Stone said that last year\u2019s decision on the schedule changes made him feel like the average Hood student has no say. \u201cI feel like that unless you are in the campus activities board or the student government association you have no voice whatsoever here regardless of if there\u2019s a meeting and you voice your opinion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Senior Sam Lopez said that many students don\u2019t have a clear understanding of the president\u2019s job. \u201cA lot of the students here that I talk to feel that President Volpe is just a figure head and he doesn\u2019t really do anything and most of us know that that\u2019s not true but it\u2019s sort of like this nebulous gray area.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for advice for Hood\u2019s new president, \u201cHe\u2019s got a tough act to follow,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cPresident Volpe, for the four years I\u2019ve been here has been an incredible president.\u201d Lopez continued: \u201cHe along with the board of trustees saved the college from bankruptcy about a decade ago and opened the campus to men which is why I\u2019m able to be here. He\u2019s just a really great all around committed person on campus and he really cares for the students so the new president is going to have to be able to do those things as well. It\u2019s also important that the new president has a vision for the college because President Volpe has tried to keep us moving forward not just as a campus community but also with Frederick.\u201d<\/p>\n
The committee had its first meeting with R.H Perry representatives on Sept. 17 to define the search process and develop a timetable. According to the committee, the new president will be selected in approximately six months and the search is broken up into five phases.<\/p>\n
The email labeled the phases as follows: develop an executive profile and advertise the position; develop and execute a national recruitment strategy; identify, select and interview candidates and select a finalist; check the finalist\u2019s credentials and background; and finalize the appointment.<\/p>\n
As listed in the email, the presidential committee members are: trustee co-chairs Jim Reinsch and Amy Chan; Judy Messina \u201966; Martha Shimano \u201986; Hamp Tisdale; Sue Whaley \u201974; Ted Luck, director of student success and outreach; Chuck Mann, vice president for finance and administration; Maria Green Cowles, Ph.D., dean of the graduate school; alumna Julie Murray McCaffery \u201979; Sang Kim, Ph.D., associate professor of economics and management and chair of the department of economics and business administration; Wayne Wold, DMA, associate professor of music and chair of the department of music; and senior Tim Hulyk, student government association president.<\/p>\n
To read more about the presidential search, nominate a candidate or send a comment on what you think the Hood\u2019s next president needs go to www.hood.edu\/About-Hood\/Presidential-Search\/Presidential-Search-Landing.html.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"