Happy Valentine’s Day!

As I said in previous updates, members of the Provost Search Committee are serving us well. That was a gross understatement. They have devoted hours and hours to the process, meeting early mornings and late into the evenings. In addition, Cyndi Berg seems to have worked magic organizing such a large group.

I am pleased to announce that the hard work of the committee is paying off. We have extended invitations to four finalists that will be coming to campus over the next couple of weeks. Each of the candidates offers unique skills and leadership styles, so we are excited to have them visit Augsburg.

Please mark your calendars for the following public sessions (in person and Zoom):

February 21

• Session with Staff and Faculty (10:15-11:00 a.m.)
• Session with Faculty and Faculty Senate (4:15-5:00 p.m.)

February 22

• Session with Staff and Faculty (11:15 a.m. -12:00 p.m.)
• Session with Faculty and Faculty Senate (4:15-5:00 p.m.)

March 1

• Session with Staff and Faculty (11:15 a.m. -12:00 p.m.)
• Session with Faculty and Faculty Senate (4:15-5:00 p.m.)

March 3

• Session with Staff and Faculty (11:15 a.m. -12:00 p.m.)
• Session with Faculty and Faculty Senate (4:15-5:00 p.m.)

The names and CVs of each candidate as well as the meeting location will be shared with the campus through A-mail the business day before their on-campus visit. In addition, a process for collecting community input regarding each candidate will be published in A-mail.

We are very pleased with the quality of candidates who have indicated their interest in serving as Augsburg’s next Provost and look forward to each of the finalists getting to know more about our community.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

— Tim Pippert, Search Committee Chair

I hope this note finds you well and enjoying (surviving?) the start of the semester.

The Provost Search Committee met on Thursday, January 6, and I am writing again to update you on our progress. Each time we meet, I am reminded of the expertise and professionalism of the members of the committee. We are in good hands!

On the 6th, we reviewed and adopted a candidate assessment form that we will use in evaluating the written applications for Provost, ensuring all candidates are evaluated by a common and clear set of criteria. Until our next meeting on January 28, the members of the Search Committee will be reviewing applicant files. When we meet on January 28, we will reduce the active pool of candidates to a smaller group who will be invited to interview
with the Search Committee over Zoom.

Until our application deadline of January 21, we will continue to receive applications and, as we have done in the past, we encourage you to consider persons who might provide strong and effective leadership for the University. A number of you have taken advantage of this opportunity and we encourage others to be similarly involved. As names come to mind, we would ask you to forward them to us so that we might be in contact with them. You will find the search profile and the qualities we seek in our next Provost at https://sites.augsburg.edu/provostsearch/.

The name(s) and contact information for potential candidates may be sent directly to our search consultants Dr. Loren Anderson at loren.anderson@agbsearch.com, or Dr. Kim Bobby at kim.bobby@agbsearch.com. Any information you provide will be treated as strictly confidential.

I am excited for the next phase in the search and will continue to update you on the progress of the committee.

— Tim Pippert, Search Committee Chair

I hope this note finds you well – but ready for Thanksgiving break. Before stepping away for a few  days, I wanted to update you on the Provost search process. 

The Provost Search Committee held its second meeting on Tuesday, November 16. At this meeting, the Search Committee reviewed and approved the search profile that will guide our search. The profile was prepared by Augsburg’s office of Marketing and Communication and our AGB Search consultants and was informed by the listening sessions hosted by AGB Search. 

The Search Committee is excited to announce that the search for Augsburg University’s next Provost is officially underway. The search profile is available online at https://sites.augsburg.edu/provostsearch/. In addition to housing the search profile, the site will  be used to update the campus community throughout the process. In support of the process, the committee urges all of you to review the profile and to reflect on the leadership opportunities, as well as the desired attributes for leadership described in the profile. We also encourage you to  suggest the names of those who might serve effectively as our new Provost, and others who might know of potential candidates. 

The names and contact information for potential candidates and/or nominators may be sent to  Augusburg-Provost@agbsearch.com. You may also refer names directly to our search consultants Dr. Loren Anderson loren.anderson@agbsearch.com, or Dr. Kim Bobby kim.bobby@agbsearch.com. The success of our search depends on building a strong and diverse pool of applicants, and your suggestions and nominations are a key part of that effort. 

The remaining weeks of November, December and early January will be used to generate our candidate pool through nominations received from you and educational leaders across the county, a national program of targeted advertisements, and the work of our consultants. The Search Committee will begin their review of applications in early January, and will narrow the candidate pool later in January. Those candidates will first be interviewed by the Search Committee, and we anticipate that finalists will visit campus sometime in February. 

We thank you for your support of our search process! We will send a further update following the early January meeting of our Search Committee.

—Tim Pippert, Search Committee Chair

My goal is to provide regular updates regarding the search for Augsburg’s next Provost. This will be done through email communications, faculty meeting announcements, and a website (not yet established) dedicated to the search.

Yesterday morning (11-10-21), the Provost Search Committee (see below) held its first meeting. At this meeting, the Search Committee reviewed the Charge to the Committee, adopted a schedule and timetable for the search, and spent time discussing the search profile that will guide the search.
The Search Profile includes a statement of the leadership opportunities available to our new Provost, as well as the leadership attributes and experience qualifications that will describe the successful candidate for this position. The profile was informed by the very helpful listening sessions with faculty, staff members of the Board, and students that were hosted by our AGB Consultants Drs. Kim Bobby and Loren Anderson over the past two weeks.

The search will officially launch on November 19 and the weeks of November and December will focus on building the candidate pool. The Search Committee expects to conduct a round of initial interviews in late January and to invite finalists for campus interviews in February.
The Search Committee is well aware our search will be strengthened by the involvement and support of the Augsburg community. When the search goes public on November 19, we hope that you will review the search profile, and forward the names of potential nominators and/or candidates to Provost-Augsburg@agbsearch.com, or to our AGB Search consultants Kim Bobby, at kim.bobby@agbsearch.com, or Loren Anderson, at loren.anderson@agbsearch.com.

We will report to the campus community again following our next Search Committee meeting scheduled for November 16. We thank you in advance for your support and engagement in this important process.

— Tim Pippert, Search Committee chair