She thanked the staff for the work involved with the logistics of the search. 

Chair Phillips stated the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the pool of semi-finalist candidates put forth by the Search Committee. If the Board and/or the Commissioner are not satisfied with the pool, they only have the option to add additional candidates to the pool. 

She then provided a brief update about the search process from recruiting to selecting semi-finalists.  WittKieffer provided candidates based on the profile. The Search Committee was given access to the applicant pool and utilized a rubric to evaluate candidates based on the “must” and “should” have qualifications/qualities outlined in the profile. The Committee was able to discuss and rate candidates and identified ten to present to the Board.

She next discussed the diversity of the pool. There were 79 total candidates. From the 79, 55 self-identified as follows:

• 16 women
• 38 men
• 1 non-binary
• 2 veterans
• 3 with disabilities
• 1 LGBTQ+

Race identified as:

• 8 Asian
• 8 Black/African American
• 29 White
• 3 two or more races
• 6 Hispanic/Latino
• 1 African/middle eastern/non-Latino

WittKieffer narrowed the pool of candidates into three sections: Recommended for review (A), additional candidates for consideration (B) and other candidates (C). 26 candidates were added to the “A” with the candidates meeting all/most of our qualifications. Of those, 22 have ties to Massachusetts and 10 are current or were previous college/university presidents. 

The ten semi-finalists self-identified as:

• 4 women
• 6 men
• 2 veterans
• 1 LGBTQ+

And:

• 1 Asian
• 1 Black/African American
• 6 White
• 2 Hispanic/Latino

Five of the 10 also have ties to Massachusetts, three are current or were previous college/university presidents, and several speak multiple languages or are first generation college students. 

Chair Phillips opened the meeting for comments/questions. 

Search Committee Chair, Eric Gregoire gave additional details about the recruiting process. WittKieffer sent the profile to approximately 4000 individuals focusing on regional peer institutions, minority groups, geographical locations as well as nationally. The WittKieffer team personally reached out to about 1000 targeted individuals.

S. King-Goodwin asked if there would be additional rigor regarding performance for the candidates that were/are college presidents. E. Gregoire responded that a more rigorous dive would happen in the interviews. D. Phillips added that the Committee developed a series of questions for the semi-finalists and those questions provide those details. 

M. Fiorentino asked if the 10 candidates have been notified and accepted the semi-finalist interviews. G. Duyck from WittKieffer said they all have accepted. M. Fiorentino asked of the three that are currently or have been presidents, have any also been provost/chancellors in the system.  G. Duyck said all three have been former Chief Administrative Officers, Chancellors or Vice Presidents. 

S. King-Goodwin asked if we use the Personality Index when evaluating candidates. She stated the new president should be engaging as they will be expected to communicate with students, faculty, staff, etc. D. Phillips stated Fitchburg State does not use the Personality index.

D. Phillips said that the purpose of the meeting is for the Board to evaluate the depth and diversity of the pool focusing on the qualifications and qualities we want in the next president. If the Board approves the 10 semi-finalists, the committee will interview them in Boston on March 14 and 15 and identify 3-5 candidates for finalist interviews at Fitchburg State. 

K. Spinelli asked if there were additional candidates on the cusp or if the 10 were the best of the best. E. Gregoire said the committee identified the best candidates, but there were discussions about those on the cusp. Those candidates had some support, but not as much as the top 10. The committee would discuss them if asked to provide additional candidates. 

M. Fiorentino suggested that we only put forth the candidates that we can see being the next president of Fitchburg State, preferably the top three. D. Phillips stated the Search Committee felt the same way and E. Gregoire stated we have prepared for five finalists, but the intent is to narrow that to three.

J. Murdoch notified the Board that the campus interview schedules were finalized and would be sent out to Board members. E. Gregoire said if there were conflicts with the Board meeting times, there are additional session throughout the 2-day interviews that members can attend. J. Murdoch also mentioned the candidates would be attending an open public session which will be recorded and sent out so everyone has a chance to hear the candidates. Ms. Murdoch will be reaching out to student leaders and student groups across campus to encourage focused student participation. All students are welcome to attend. 

D. Phillips asked if there were any additional questions. There were none. 

The executive session was not needed.