The times, they are a-changin’. With the election of its new president Jane Fernandes, the College will assemble a transition team to help the President settle into her new position.
A lot of responsibilities come with being the new face of Guilford College. Talking with donors, being a presence in the Quaker community and listening to the student body are some of the duties where the transition team will advise Fernandes.
The team will also be in charge of a transition plan for the new president, suggesting important meetings and community events. Other expectations for the transition team include assessing campus mood and introducing the president to the community.
The team should include people from different skills, communities and jobs, according to AGB Search, a company that finds potential presidential candidates.
“We want to tailor it to the particular circumstances of the new president and the chair of the committee,” said Edward Winslow, board chair-elect. “My thought is that we should do this expeditiously but deliberately.”
The promise of this new transition team has evoked certain expectations from the community. First-year Mara Stern, Community Senate treasurer, told The Guilfordian her expectations of the transition team’s composition.
“The kind of people that should be appointed are pillars of the community that have been involved in Guilford’s campus activities,” said Stern in an email interview. “I think that the transition team should understand what is important to the students and faculty of Guilford, in addition to a knowledge of issues going on in the greater Greensboro community.”
Max Carter, director of the Friends Center and campus ministry coordinator, hopes the team will include someone who can appropriately represent the Quaker values the institution strives to uphold.
“There needs to be someone on the team that understands the importance (of Quaker ethos) and who knows how to connect Jane with the wider Quaker communities,” said Carter.
With all of the pressures of presidency, it is easy to get stretched too thin. The transition team could allow for more time for Fernandes to get to know the community she will be representing.
“While maintaining her sanity and energy, Jane should get acquainted with as many communities as possible,” said Carter.
Some students are excited about the possible changes this new team could bring to their Guilford experience.
“More communication between administration and students is exactly the kind of thing Guilford needs,” said senior William Dobbins. “Hopefully the transition team will make this happen.”
The board of trustees will decide the members of the transition team in May.
