TIGERVILLE, SC — On Thursday, Aug. 18, North Greenville University announced progress in the search for its eighth president, with plans to fill the position during the Spring 2017 semester.
In a special chapel service for NGU faculty and staff, Bill Tyler – chair of the university’s Presidential Search Committee – reported that a significant number of candidates have already applied for the job opening.
“We’re not short on a pool of applicants,” Tyler commented.
Earlier this year, NGU hired national executive search firm CarterBaldwin to spearhead the search for the next president of the Tigerville-based university. NGU has recently expanded to include a new location in the city of Greer, S.C., and will soon enter its 125th year as a Christian learning institution.
“The university is at a turning point in its history, poised to expand its growth potential,” read the CarterBaldwin position profile. “It is ready for a leader with a robust and comprehensive vision, a leader who will expand its horizons and transform its brand.”
As part of the search process, CarterBaldwin held town hall meetings on campus at NGU this past spring, where current NGU faculty, staff, and even students could voice the characteristics they believed to be essential for the new president. Alumni could also share their perspectives through an online form on the university’s website.
CarterBaldwin then created a thorough position profile, which outlined key desired characteristics for the new leader, such as a deep Christian faith, commitment to the Southern Baptist Convention, knowledge and understanding of Christian higher education, and integrity and authenticity, to name a few.
According to Tyler, the online profile has garnered more than 1,300 page views to date, and 160 candidates have been nominated to the search firm.
NGU’s Presidential Search Committee is comprised of current trustees, faculty, staff, and student representatives who will make a final decision on the candidate that will be brought before the board of trustees and the board will make the final vote and decision.
“Our hope would be that we would name a president by next spring,” Tyler told “The Greer Citizen” earlier this year.
In addition to Tyler, the search committee includes Trustees Travis Agnew, Lee Capell, David Charpia, Ron Edwards, and Laura Messer, as well as Faculty Representative Paul Thompson, Staff Representative Jody Jennings, Alumni Representative Richard McLawhorn, and Student Representative Emily Phillips.
CarterBaldwin will continue to accept applications for the position until a new NGU president is named. However, the firm has recommended that candidates submit their application materials by Friday, Sept. 30, 2016, for best consideration. Nominations, expressions of interest, and applications should be submitted online to ngupresident@carterbaldwin.com.
For more information about NGU’s presidential search, visit http://www.ngu.edu/presidential-search.php.