The search for the next president of Antioch College, which began in February 2021, continues with significant progress.

The Presidential Search Committee—which is chaired by Ro Nita Hawes-Saunders and composed of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Trustees, and members of the Yellow Springs Community—has worked closely with our search firm, Academic Search, to review input and nominations from faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the College.

“We’re grateful for everyone who has taken the time so far to provide insights into the qualities we should emphasize in our search, or to suggest potential candidates,” says Ro Nita Hawes-Saunders.

This input was used by the Search Committee and Academic Search in the development of the search prospectus, which in turn has resulted in a pool of viable candidates.

“We’re very pleased with the response we’ve received,” says Maureen Lynch, chair of the Board of Trustees and member of the Presidential Search Committee. “We have a strong and diverse pool of more than 50 highly qualified candidates. This is very much what we had hoped for going into the process.“

Shelby Chestnut ’05, vice-chair of the Board of Trustees, concurs, “I’m impressed with the depth of skills and experience represented, beyond what you’d see in a traditional academic presidential search. It is very encouraging.”

Review of the candidate pool continues, with first round interviews scheduled in the coming weeks. The current phase is both time-intensive and sensitive. Presidential searches require a high level of confidentiality in order to facilitate conversation with the best candidates. As a result, much work will continue behind the scenes during this time. The Search Committee‘s goal is to recommend a short list of final candidates to the Board in July.