Dear Members of the Bates Community,

We write to share an update on the progress of the search for Bates’ next president.

In September we announced the composition of a Presidential Search Committee and the Board of Trustees’ charge to the committee. The committee is made up of faculty, staff, students, and trustees – including eight alumni and four Bates parents – who will evaluate candidates for the position and make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees. The committee has met several times already, and we are thrilled with the many perspectives represented by members and grateful for their commitment to this important project. 

Thanks to the input of many in the Bates community, we developed a leadership profile that has been posted to the presidential search website and shared with potential candidates. We appreciate the significant engagement of the Bates community in the shared work of identifying the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for Bates and what kind of president we need to lead us through them. Over 300 faculty, staff, students, trustees, alumni, and parents participated in listening sessions, completed a survey, or shared their thoughts with us via email.

Our search partners at Isaacson, Miller have been working closely with their extensive network to identify qualified candidates and follow up on nominations of, and inquiries from, potential candidates. The IM team recently provided an update on these efforts to the search committee. They reported that there is strong interest in the opportunity at Bates among a talented and diverse pool of candidates. The committee also heard about the specific strategies that Isaacson, Miller is deploying to ensure the strongest, deepest, and most diverse group of candidates possible.

Looking ahead, the search committee will begin a thorough assessment of the candidates in January. There will be several rounds of interviews, as well as rigorous referencing for the strongest candidates. Candidates’ identities will remain confidential throughout the process in order to attract the strongest and most diverse pool. Our hope and expectation is that an announcement of Bates’ ninth president will take place in early spring 2023.

We will be in touch again in the new year to provide another update on the work of the search. In the meantime, we can always be reached at presidentialsearch@bates.edu if you have questions or comments.

We wish you all a very happy holiday season.

Sincerely,

Andrea Conklin Bueschel ’90 
Gregory Ehret ’91, P’23
Co-Chairs, Presidential Search Committee