Presidential Search Committee
A 13-member presidential search committee has been appointed to identify and recommend the next president to the St. Thomas Board of Trustees.
Selection
Under the university’s bylaws, the Board Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees is responsible for the establishment of presidential search committees. The Board Affairs Committee appointed its chairman, John Morrison, to chair the search committee and delegated authority to Dr. Morrison to determine the search committee’s size and composition.
Dr. Morrison sought and considered input from trustees, university leaders and executive search consultants regarding the appropriate size and composition of the search committee. Ultimately, nine trustees (including Dr. Morrison), three faculty members and one administrative staff member were selected to serve on the search committee. As it is the Board’s responsibility to hire and supervise the performance of the president, trustees represent the majority of committee members.
The three faculty members serving on the committee were appointed by Dr. Morrison in consultation with the Faculty Affairs Committee (FAC) of the faculty, in recognition of the university’s principles of shared governance. The FAC called for nominations for the three faculty positions on the committee. More than 20 faculty members applied or were nominated. The FAC considered all of these nominations and applications and made recommendations to Dr. Morrison, who accepted the FAC recommendations.
Composition
The members of the presidential search committee are:
Mr. Michael Dougherty
He is chairman and chief executive officer of Dougherty Financial LLC. He is a 1966 St. Thomas alumnus, has served on the board since 2003 and will chair its Executive Committee for the next two years.
Mr. Timothy Flynn
He is the recently retired chairman of KPMG International. He is a 1979 alumnus and has been a board member since 2006. He recently became chair of the Executive Committee of the Opus College of Business Strategic Board of Governors.
Dr. Eugene Frey
He is chairman of Wabash Management Inc. and former chairman and chief executive officer of Waldorf Corp., known today as Rock-Tenn. He attended St. Thomas in 1948-49, joined the St. Thomas board in 1988 and co-chaired the Ever Press Forward capital campaign, which concluded in 2001 after raising $250 million.
Mr. James Gearen
He is president of Zeller Realty Corp. of Minneapolis. He is a 1983 St. Thomas alumnus and has served on the board since 2009. He also is a member of the St. Thomas Center for Catholic Studies Advisory Board.
Dr. Amy Goldman
She is chair and executive director of the GHR Foundation and former chair of The Better Way Foundation. She joined the St. Thomas board in 2007.
Dr. Kenneth Goodpaster
He holds the Koch Endowed Chair in Business Ethics in the Opus College of Business and has taught at St. Thomas since 1990.
Ms. Karen Lange
She is dean of students at St. Thomas. She has worked at the university since 1986, including in Residence Life and as associate dean of students before she was named dean in 2002. She also is a doctoral student at St. Thomas.
Dr. John Morrison
He is chairman and chief executive officer of Central Bank Group Inc. He joined the St. Thomas board in 1996, serves on the School of Law Board of Governors and is co-chair of the Opening Doors capital campaign.
The Hon. Diana Murphy
She is an U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals judge. She has been a St. Thomas trustee since 1991 and a founding member of the School of Law Board of Governors, which she formerly chaired. She previously served as a judge in Hennepin County and for the U.S. District Court of Minnesota.
Most Rev. Lee Piché
He is auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He is a 1980 alumnus of St. Thomas and a 1984 alumnus of the St. Paul Seminary, taught philosophy at the university from 1994 to 1997 and has served on the board since 2008.
Dr. Brenda Powell
She is a professor of English. She joined the faculty in 1984, was named Professor of the Year in 1999, was director of the Luann Dummer Center for Women from 1996 to 2000 and is a former chair of the faculty.
Ms. Elizabeth Schiltz
She is a professor in the St. Thomas School of Law. She was a founding faculty member of the law school in 2001 and is co-director of the Terrence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law and Public Policy. She also is a member of the St. Paul Seminary Board of Trustees.
Dr. Richard Schulze
He is the founder and former chairman and chief executive officer of Best Buy. He joined the board in 1995 and also serves as chair of the Opus College of Business Strategic Board of Governors as well as co-chair of the Opening Doors capital campaign.
Sara Gross Methner, general counsel and chief human resources officer, is serving as staff to the search committee.