Committee Begins Search for Morgan's Next President

The Board of Regents of Morgan State University is conducting a search for MSU's 13th president. After 25 years of a highly successful presidency that has transformed MSU into an urban doctoral research university of national stature, President Earl S. Richardson will step down on December 31, 2009.

The Board has established an 11-member search committee, chaired by a member of the Board of Regents, Dr. Shirley Malcom, Director of the Directorate for Education and Human Resources of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Clara Adams is serving as executive assistant to the search committee.

The university-wide committee consists of six members of the MSU Board of Regents (Dr. Shirley Malcom, Ms. Shirley Marcus Allen*, Reverend Dr. Frances Draper*, Mr. Franklin L. Edmonds*, Dr. Charles W. Griffin*, Mr. Martin R. Resnick), one representative of: the administration (Mr. Raymond Vollmer*), faculty (Dr. Conrad Williams*), student body (Ms. Taylor Lovett), classified staff (Ms. Joan E. Williams), and alumni representative (Mrs. Gloria Wayman*).

The Board and search committee are assisted by a higher education search firm, Arlington, Virginia-based Ayers & Associates, Inc. The firm met with the search committee on January 7, 2009 and February 5, 2009. These two meetings of the search committee focused on a discussion of the search process, development of a position description and announcement, formation of a statement of desired leadership characteristics for the next president, strategies for building a candidate pool, and the search timeline. The next meeting of the search committee will be held in March 2009 with a specific date, time and location yet to be determined.

With respect to the search timeline, MSU Board of Regents Chair Dallas Evans said, "the university expects to complete the identification of candidates by April 30, 2009, review and select semi-finalist and finalist candidates by June 15, 2009, and select a finalist candidate and make the appointment by August 31, 2009 with a reporting date of the next president on January 1, 2010."

The chair of the Presidential Search Committee, Dr. Shirley Malcom, will keep the university community informed when there are significant milestones in the search process.

* Morgan State University Alumnus