The Starr King Presidential Search Committee has been hard at work over the past several months to find the next president of Starr King.
To recap, we held 6 listening sessions and collected other input from students, staff, faculty, donors, graduates, and others on what was desired in our next present. Based on that input, we create a Presidential Prospectus that was shared on our website and via advertisements across platforms. We received more than 60 applications from these ads and our outreach to UU and other religious leaders. The applications were screened to insure they met our requirements and then furthered narrowed to a list of semi-finalists. These semi-finalists were interviewed via Zoom by the Search Committee, and evaluated against prioritized criteria from the listening sessions.
On March 28, we sent three final candidates to the Board of Trustees. The three finalists and their information were provided to the Board based on a modified consensus process, where all Search Committee members either supported or could “live with” the result if any of the three were chosen by the Board, subject to the results of the reference checks. The Board interviewed these final candidates on April 8 and 9. These were hybrid interviews, with five trustees physically in the room with the candidate and the rest via Zoom.
We anticipate a decision by May 1 or slightly later.
There are a lot of variables that go into choosing a new president, especially at a time that is fraught with uncertainty. The lessons learned that I posted in the last update bear repeating:
- Almost every candidate is aware of the tenuous nature of theological education and still relishes the opportunity to lead an institution like Starr King.
- Even in difficult times, there is a cadre of seasoned leaders who believe in Starr King’s mission and want to be part of it.
- There are a significant number of solid candidates who are not Unitarian Universalists (which is not required) but have a deep knowledge and resonance with our values, often gleaned through their contact with us in non-UU seminaries or on the front line of social justice.
- The substantial number of people from historically marginalized groups who have applied view Starr King as a beacon of hope in a tough world.
- There are a number of candidates who have faced hard situations in their past positions — and typically persevered — who believe in Starr King and the opportunity to grow its influence and legacy.
As the Board of Trustees takes this presidential search process across the finish line, I would like to thank everyone who has supported the Presidential Search Committee over the past several months – participating in our listening sessions; sharing the prospectus and job advertisements with your networks; sharing your ideas, hopes, and concerns with our search committee members. We would not have gotten to this point in the process without your continuous support.
Stay tuned for further updates from the Board.
Linda Laskowski
Chair, Starr King School for the Ministry Presidential Search, on behalf of herself and
Rev. Dianne Daniels
Dr. Som Pourfarzaneh
Richael Faithful
Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud’homme
Kellie Kinsman
Rev. Dr. Chris Schelin
Dr. Kat Liu