In the wake of Donald W. McNemar’s resignation from the office of President, Guilford College has begun the process of selecting its eighth chief executive.The Board of Trustees, in their Sept. 21-22 meeting, created three committees, each headed by a board member, to organize and expedite the search process.

The Consultant Selection Committee, chaired by Alan Hunt, was charged to research and select a “search consultant.” This task was completed in mid-October, when the school hired the firm of R.H. Perry & Associates of Washington D.C. to identify possible candidates for the position.

The Leadership Committee, chaired by Martha W. Summerville ‘76, has been asked to create a “leadership statement,” detailing the qualities that Guilford is looking for in a chief executive, as well as recommend to the Board both the content of the incoming president’s contract and a process for evaluation of his/her performance.

The Search Committee, chaired by Ellen P. Hamrick ’78, will take the leadership statement created by the Leadership Committee, and the candidates suggested by R.H. Perry and Associates, and compile a final list of three to five finalists which will be submitted to the Board of Trustees, who will then make the final decision on who is hired.

Though the Consultant Selection and Leadership Committees are composed entirely of trustees, the students, faculty, and staff are represented in the Search Committee, which is composed of four trustees (Hamrick, Joseph M. Bryan Jr. ’60, M.L. Carr ’73, Alan Hunt), a trustee emeritus (Howard Haworth ’57), three faculty members (Carolyn Beard Whitlow, Prof. of English, Anne Glenn, Assoc. Prof. of Chemistry, and Tim Lindeman, Assoc. Prof. of Music), one staff member (Anthony Gurley ’77, Assoc. Dean of Enrollment), one “traditional-age” student (Steve Harrison, junior), one Center for Continuing Education student (Tanisha Layne, senior), one Board of Visitor’s representative (Dan Mosca), and one community leader (Carole Bruce, chair of the Guilford President’s Club).

The Board of Trustees hopes to have finished the selection process before the end of the Spring 2002 semester, to ensure a swift transition when McNemar’s term ends in June.