Presidential Leadership Profile 2024
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On Thursday, September 26, 2024, the Central Michigan University Board of Trustees unanimously voted to appoint Neil MacKinnon, Ph.D., to serve as the 16th university president. MacKinnon joins CMU from Augusta University, where he recently served as provost, overseeing units including academic planning, research, student success and belonging, enrollment, strategic planning and more.
Overview
CMU President Robert O. Davies announced his intention to step down December 31, 2024. The Central Michigan University Board of Trustees has announced the start of a national search for the university's 16th president.
Central Michigan University is a nationally ranked institution that fosters the transformative power of advanced learning while embracing a sense of community among our students, faculty, staff and more than 225,000 alumni around the world.
Developed with community input
Approximately 200 students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, community partners and supporters participated in the April listening sessions hosted by search firm WittKieffer. Additionally, 350 individuals submitted feedback using the online submission form.
Information collected from the forms and listening sessions was compiled and synthesized by the search consultant. This information was used to develop the presidential leadership profile, including the section outlining opportunities and expectations for leadership and the section on desired professional qualifications and personal characteristics.
Board of Trustees action on presidential search process
To make the presidential search process as inclusive as possible, the CMU Board of Trustees adopted the following practices to guide the search process:
Search process and timeline
Presidential Search Advisory Committee
The national search for CMU's 16th president will be led by a search advisory committee, which is tasked with recruiting, screening and engaging prospective candidates. At the February 6 meeting of the CMU Board of Trustees, Trustees approved procedures for the selection of a president, including an expansion of the search advisory committee to ensure representation from all key university stakeholder groups.
Denise Williams Mallett, vice chair of the CMU Board of Trustees, will lead the presidential search effort. Other members of the search advisory committee representing faculty, students, staff, alumni, donors and the community are:
- Trustee Todd Regis, Chair, CMU Board of Trustees
- Trustee Todd Anson, CMU Board of Trustees
- Trustee Sharon Heath, CMU Board of Trustees
- Tangela Cheatham, deputy athletic director, CMU Athletics
- Tracy Davis, Chair, Academic Senate; faculty member, Department of English Language and Literature
- Todd Fridline, representative, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe
- Deb Gross, executive secretary, Registrar's office; President, CMU Office Professionals Local 6888 (UAW)
- Mary Moran Hill, vice president, Finance and Administrative Services
- Nick Hussein, faculty member, Department of Marketing, Hospitality and Logistics
- Stephen Juris, Chair-Elect, Academic Senate; faculty member, Department of Biology
- Shana Kingma, graduate student, CMU Innovation and Online
- John Kulhavi, CMU alumnus and Trustee Emeritus
- Paula Lancaster, Dean, College of Education and Human Services
- Stephanie Mathson, faculty member, education librarian and coordinator, Library Research & Instruction Services
- Scott Nadeau, President, CMU Alumni Association
- Amy Perschbacher, Mayor, Mount Pleasant, Michigan
- Penny Queller, CMU alumna and supporter
- Cedric Taylor, faculty member, School of Politics, Society, Justice and Public Service
- Tyler Zimmerman, President, CMU Student Government Association
The search advisory committee will participate in listening sessions with university stakeholder groups to gain insight and perspective into the needs of the university community and to understand the key characteristics, qualifications and experiences necessary for CMU's next president.
Presidential search news updates
As Central Michigan University begins the search for its 16th president, the CMU Board of Trustees has released a new Presidential Leadership Profile document. The profile showcases the university’s academic and co-curricular programs and outlines expectations for the university’s next leader.
Approximately 200 students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, community partners and supporters participated in the April listening sessions hosted by search firm WittKieffer. Additionally, 350 individuals submitted feedback using an online form.
Denise Williams Mallett, Ed.D., vice chair of the CMU Board of Trustees and chair of the presidential search advisory committee, said the community’s input was invaluable to the development of the search criteria.
“Our goal was to make the search process as inclusive as possible and to ensure we received input from a wide variety of university stakeholders,” Williams Mallett said. “The search consultants reviewed and synthesized all the information we received and used it as a foundation for the leadership profile.”
The leadership profile outlines the role of the president, the opportunities and expectations for leadership, and the professional qualifications and personal qualifications desirable for the university’s next leader. The 48-page document also provides a high-level overview of the university and its mission, vision and values; the academic colleges and student support services; the Mount Pleasant community and surrounding region; and more.
Next steps for the search
As outlined in the presidential search timeline, the university will spend the summer months advertising the position, soliciting nominations and engaging WittKieffer to assist with intentional, targeted outreach to potential candidates.
Members of the CMU community also are encouraged to nominate candidates for consideration. To recommend a candidate, individuals should send an email to CMUPresident@wittkieffer.com that includes the candidate’s name, email address and phone number.