May 22, 2019: Letter on Presidential Search from Board Chair Luis Hernandez

Dear Hampshire College Community,

When the Board appointed Ken Rosenthal as interim president last month, I wrote to you that he was the best person to help bridge the transition until we could search for a permanent president. We are deeply grateful to Ken for agreeing to lead us through this challenging time and for doing so with a sense of hope and confidence that has been contagious. With his help, Hampshire has secured our educational program for our current students and also launched a fundraising campaign that promises to transform the College for the next generation.

The Board of Trustees has now formed a Presidential Search Committee with the goal of naming a new president this summer.  We seek a president who can guide the process for restructuring and reimagining the College, help direct our fundraising campaign, and assure our accreditors, donors, partners, and all our constituents of the College's plans and resources for a long future.

The Board has appointed trustee Ellen Sturgis 77F to chair the search committee, and constituted the committee as follows (listed alphabetically):

• Christoph Cox, faculty representative (elected by faculty)
• Jose Fuentes 05F, vice chair of the Board of Trustees
• Luis Hernandez 70F, chair of the Board of Trustees
• Daya Mena 15F, student/new graduate representative, outgoing student trustee
• Sarah Steely 02F, staff representative (elected by staff)
• Ellen Sturgis 77F, trustee, committee chair, former chair of Alumni Advisory Group
• Anthony Thomas 07F, trustee and JB scholar graduate

The committee is smaller than usual so they can work nimbly and expeditiously; they had their first meeting yesterday.

We’re extremely grateful to those faculty and staff who nominated themselves to serve on the committee, and to those who took the time to vote.

Since students had already left for summer break, we weren’t able to organize a student election, but we’re confident that Daya Mena is a qualified representative with her experience as elected delegate to the Student Advocacy Network and student trustee over the past year. The committee is developing ways to engage more students, faculty, staff, and alums in the search process. The Board is committed to involving as many members of our community as possible. Soon, the committee will invite community members to participate in a conversation about the presidential profile and job description that we'll publish for candidates.

In the meantime, we encourage anyone to nominate candidates for president starting today by submitting the individual's name and current title if applicable, and ideally a brief bio and their contact information. Self-nominations are welcome. Please email nominations and any questions or comments to the Presidential Search Committee at presidentialsearch@hampshire.edu.

Sincerely,

Luis Hernandez 70F
Chair of the Board