Board of Trustees Announces Members of Presidential Research Committee – St. Olaf College

The search for the next president of St. Olaf College reached a milestone this month, as the Board of Regents announced the members of the Presidential Search Committee.

The group is made up of eight current or former regents, two faculty members, two staff members and one current student. Several of the committee members are also former students and / or parents of current or past St. Olaf students.

Committee members will work with the research firm selected by St. Olaf, Research, to identify who will succeed President David R. Anderson ’74, who announced in May 2021 that he would step down at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year.

The announcement was made by St. Olaf Board Chairman Jay Lund ’81, whose full message to the community is below.

Dear community of St. Olaf,

The Board of Regents concluded its fall meeting earlier today, where one of the items we discussed was the selection of the college’s presidential search committee. This committee will work alongside our selected recruitment firm, Research, to find a successor to President Anderson upon his retirement at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year.

I am happy to share that the following will be serving on the Presidential Research Committee:

Regents and Former Regents
Stéphanie Fehr ’87, president P’21
Rev. William Gafkjen ’79, bishop
Susan Gunderson ’79, P’15
Jennifer Hellman ’98, P’25
Christopher Klein P ’19
Timothy Maudlin ’73, P’99, P’02
Brenda McCormick ’89
Glenn Taylor ’73

Faculty
Louis Epstein, Associate Professor of Music and Faculty Representative on the Board
Anthony Bateza, Associate Professor of Religion

Staff
María Pabón, Vice-President for Equity and Inclusion
Valeng Cha, Director of Government, Foundation and Business Relations

Student
Andy Nelson, President of the Student Government Association (SGA)

These committee members have been deliberately chosen to represent the diversity of gender, age, race, experience, views and association with the college. They are also avant-garde, turned towards the future of Saint-Olaf. Committee Chair Stephanie Fehr is an accomplished human resources professional who will bring this invaluable perspective and expertise to the process. Please join me in thanking the members of the committee for dedicating their time and talent to this important task.

The Presidential Search Committee looks forward to discussing with the entire St. Olaf community your thoughts on our next leader. Starting in January, we will embark on a community engagement process that will give each member of our community the opportunity to share their thoughts and aspirations for our next president. At that time, we will also launch a dedicated webpage with information and updates related to the President search. You can expect regular updates on the President’s research and engagement opportunities starting early next year.

Greetings,

Jay Lund, President
Board of Regents of St. Olaf College