Presidential Leadership Profile 2024
View profile on Issuu
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
The Central Michigan University Board of Trustees will meet virtually in a special formal session at 11:00 a.m. Friday, March 15. The trustees will discuss and make decisions regarding the process to identify and select the next president of CMU.
Trustees will set the size of the presidential search advisory committee, voting on whether to add one more member to the group and bring the final committee membership to no more than 20 individuals. The agenda also includes a vote to approve the committee membership.
The Board of Trustees will also approve a charge for the search advisory committee and establish appropriate procedures for the search.
Adoption of a confidentiality agreement for search advisory committee members and an affirmative action statement regarding the presidential search process also will be considered, along with other next steps in the process.
The agenda for the special session is available on the Board of Trustees Agendas and Minutes webpage. Board of Trustees meetings are open to the university community and members of the public. Friday’s virtual meeting will be available to view via WebEx.
Per the Board of Trustees bylaws, individuals wishing to address the Board of Trustees during the public comment period of this special formal session must submit a request in advance of the meetings in one of two ways:
- Complete the “Request to Address the Board” online form: Individuals should add their comments in the topic section to be read aloud by the Board of Trustees Secretary during the formal session.
- Visit the Office of the President in Warriner Hall to complete a request card.
Individuals who submit a request for public comment may choose to deliver their comments in person in the President’s Conference Room in the Bovee University Center during the session.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the CMU Board of Trustees is April 18, 2024 on the university’s Mt. Pleasant campus.