The Berkeley Beacon

The Board of Trustees announced Jan. 29 that it has convened a committee of 15 professionals and one student to find President Jacqueline Liebergott's replacement.

Peter Meade, the chair of the search committee and of the college's Board of Trustees, said the group has already discussed plans via telephone, and will meet regularly as they continue to hash out the details concerning the type of leader they are looking for.

"This is an exciting institution," Meade said. "We may see candidates that would be wonderful for Fordham or MIT or Berklee, but wouldn't be right for Emerson. It's a daunting challenge for us."

All committee members have ties to the College as either board members, alumni or professors. The 16th member of the committee is sophomore Adriana Guida, Student Representative to the Board of Trustees and Student Government Association chief justice.

The writing, literature, and publishing and political communications double major said she was looking forward to the opportunity to represent Emerson students as the search for a new president progresses.

Guida also said she was hoping to find candidates that will be skilled at working with a diverse body of student and faculty organizations. "It's important that the president can work all the many kinds of groups on campus...it is what makes us unique," she said.

With the tenure review panel's recent findings still fresh in the inboxes of the Emerson community, Meade said the search committee intends to keep diversity at the fore of the discussion.

"The report says that we're average, and we want to be extraordinary," he said. "All of us need to be doing better, but we want to find someone with a reputation for attracting and retaining a diverse workforce. This was a priority of ours before the panel released its findings."

Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, LLC, is assisting the search committee.

"[Storbeck/Pimentel] has a pretty good handle and a great reputation for finding qualified women and minorities in academia," Meade said. Meade also said the firm does not exclusively hire minorities.

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