Presidential Search Update: Search Committee and Process
To the Campus Community
Constituting the Search Committee
We have finalized the process for constituting the search committee consistent with
the committee makeup outlined in the Searches Guidelines, which includes broad, campus-wide
representation. Dr. Sarah Gross, Chair, and Dr. Lloyd Makarowitz, Presiding Officer,
of the Farmingdale Executive Committee worked tirelessly to solicit nominations of
faculty and professionals to serve. Our goal has been to recruit a diverse group of
individuals who represent a cross-section of the campus community to serve on this
important body.
Chancellor Expected to Charge the Committee in Late November
We expect Chancellor John B. King, Jr. to formally charge our group in late November,
and the names of the committee will then be shared with the campus community. We will
then prepare a campus profile and advertisement to be placed in a variety of locations.
The campus is creating a webpage that will be the primary source of information about
the search, including the timeline, search committee membership, search ad, campus
profile, and announcements from the committee. It will be launched once the search
committee is charged.
The Search Process
At the request of the College Council, SUNY has approved the decision to use a representational
search model. In this competitive market, and to protect the professionals who will
be engaged, it is essential that the names of the candidates remain confidential throughout
the process. This means that semifinalists’ names will not be provided to the campus
community. SUNY approved the decision based on consultation with the College Council
and recent and past precedent from SUNY presidential searches. To maintain a strong,
robust, and diverse applicant pool, this model will serve FSC’s best interest for
its faculty, students, and community.
During a representational search, members of the College Council and other designated
members of the FSC campus community will be invited to meet with the semifinalist
candidates under strict rules of confidentiality, which is vital to this model to
retain the selected candidates. The structure and makeup of the Presidential Search
Committee ensures that all areas of the College have “a voice” in the process.
The Presidential Search Committee and a selection of other campus constituents will
confidentially meet with the finalists. The Presidential Search Committee will review
feedback from the final interviews, as well as feedback from references, and together
will weigh the merits of each of the finalists. Based on this review process, the
College Council will then vote to recommend three finalists to the Chancellor and
the SUNY Board of Trustees. The Chancellor and the SUNY Board of Trustees will meet
with the three finalists, the Chancellor will make his recommendation to the SUNY
Board of Trustees, and the trustees will vote to choose our next president.
Please contact Zulaika Rodriguez, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Presidential Searches and system liaison, with any
questions about this process.
We appreciate your support and understanding of this process.
Best,
Dr. Patricia Hill Williams
Farmingdale State College Presidential Search Committee Chair
College Council Chair
