The Presidential Search Committee met recently in Boston. Often, this sort of meeting allows the entire committee to meet certain candidates, though Jes Staley ’79, a Bowdoin trustee and chair of the selection committee, would not elaborate on the nature of this specific meeting.

According to Staley, there is not yet a set date for when the next president will be announced. Since President Barry Mills will hold the position until the end of this academic year, Staley said that the committee does not feel any pressure to name a successor by a certain date.

“We have a lot of terrific candidates and we want to be very thorough and very confident with our decision,” said Staley.

“We still have a number of candidates that we are engaged with and talking to,” he added.
He did not mention whether the committee has narrowed down the search to a specific number of candidates.

On November 18, Middlebury College chose Laurie L, Patton as its newest president. Patton is a professor of religion and the dean of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University. She will be Middlebury’s first female president. 

“She looks like a great candidate and we’re excited for Middlebury,” said Staley.

He added that the decision would have no bearing on the College’s own selection process.
President Mills originally chaired the search committee for his own presidency, but he was asked to step down so that he could be considered for the position himself. Staley would not say whether or not any current committee members are being considered for the position at this time.