September 7, 2022

Dear Pitzer Community,

Welcome back from the Labor Day weekend! I am writing to provide an update on the presidential search process and am pleased to report that we are making steady progress.

Over the summer, we worked with our consultants at WittKieffer to advertise the position broadly and contact leaders in academia and other sectors who might be interested in the job or know of others who might be interested and qualified. The outreach included preliminary conversations with nearly 800 individuals, including those nominated by members of the Pitzer community. Our efforts were extremely fruitful: by the end of August, we received nearly 100 applications for the Pitzer presidency. From this group, WittKieffer and the Search Committee identified about 30 candidates who seemed most qualified based on the criteria we established in our Leadership Profile.

Last week, the Search Committee met to review the candidates’ letters and CVs and identify the group of semifinalists who will be invited to a first round of interviews. The Committee reached agreement on 11 candidates. Each has earned a doctorate and held the position of college or university professor before assuming a leadership role such as provost, vice president, or dean. They are currently working in large and small institutions—both public and private—and are geographically dispersed. They are diverse with respect to gender, race, and ethnicity. A common thread is that they are drawn to Pitzer’s core values and are enthusiastic about the prospect of being our next president.  

After the Search Committee interviews the semifinalists this month, we plan to identify three finalist candidates who will visit our campus and meet with Pitzer faculty, staff, students, and Board members in October. Please stay tuned! 

Sincerely,

Tom Brock ’83

Presidential Search Committee Chair