Updates from National Search Committee Chair
January 30, 2012
Dear CSWE Community,
The National Search Committee (NSC) for a new CSWE president met last week to review the pool of applicants. I am pleased to report that the search is proceeding on schedule and has brought strong candidates to the table. Interviews with the semifinalists are scheduled for mid–February, and those for the finalists will take place at the CSWE Board of Directors’ meeting in early March.
We have reached this juncture as the result of an extraordinary effort on the part of the CSWE membership, NSC, and our executive search consultants at Witt/Kieffer. Our consultant, Dennis Barden, reports that he and his team made direct contact with 376 people from a wide array of backgrounds in pursuit of outstanding candidates. These calls resulted in 59 nominations, with several of them referred more than once. Eight of those nominees submitted official candidacies and were counted among the 33 total applicants who were considered by NSC. In many cases Dennis and his colleagues returned multiple times to nominees in an effort to advocate on behalf of CSWE, and NSC members were personally involved in reaching out to potential candidates to encourage them to apply. The success of these efforts is manifest in the quality of the candidate pool. All semifinalists have a distinguished leadership record and a demonstrated commitment to social work values. And each has a social work degree.
Over the next several weeks the search committee will work in concert with the Board to continue the process of evaluating the candidates with the objective of selecting CSWE’s next president in the wake of the Board’s March meeting.
Please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions.
With best regards on behalf of NSC,
Alberto Godenzi
Chair, National Search Committee
January 9, 2012
Dear CSWE Community,
This is a brief update regarding the search for the new president of CSWE. Immediately after the Annual Program Meeting (APM) the job ad was posted in a wide variety of publications and online venues. Over the past 2 months the National Search Committee (NSC), in collaboration with the executive search firm Witt/Kieffer, has been engaged in attracting and recruiting qualified candidates for this important leadership position. With 3 weeks to go before the NCS will narrow the field of applicants down to six to eight semifinalists, we are happy to report that a strong group of candidates has applied or is in the process of applying for the position.
We would like to thank all of you who have been active in assisting us with this crucial search. Your invaluable feedback prior to and during the APM, your sharing of the open position with your colleagues, and your nominations have led to this promising pool. While the deadline for applications draws closer, there is still time to either submit an application or to nominate colleagues you think could move CSWE to the next level. The first screening of candidates will take place on January 26. The interviews with the semifinalists are scheduled for mid-February, and the interviews with the finalists will occur during the CSWE Board meeting at the beginning of March. We expect that soon after the March meeting we will be able to share the outcome of the search.
Thanks again, and please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions.
With best regards on behalf of the NSC,
Alberto Godenzi
Chair, National Search Committee
CSWE to Select a New President by June 2012
CSWE has begun the process to hire a new president to replace Executive Director Julia Watkins following her planned retirement in June 2012. Please note that this is a title change (executive director to president; the current title of president will be changed to Board of Directors' chair) resulting from adoption of the 2010 bylaws. President Mit Joyner has appointed members to a National Search Committee (NSC). Alberto Godenzi, dean of the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work, has agreed to serve as chair.
NSC Chair Godenzi and President Joyner plan to maintain close communication with CSWE members throughout this process. Please direct any search questions or comments to them or a member of the committee (their contact information can be found in the Individual Members Directory). The CSWE President job description and position specification documents provide more information. We hope you will promote this position to potential candidates.
Members of the 2011–2012 National Search Committee for CSWE President (NSC)
Freddie L. Avant (Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas), Edward Blair (Council on Social Work Education, Virginia), Priscilla A. Day (University of Minnesota Duluth), Alberto Godenzi (Boston College, Massachusetts), Nancy R. Hooyman (University of Washington), Nancy P. Kropf (Georgia State University), Candida Madrigal (San Francisco State University, California), Noreen Mokuau (University of Hawai’i at Manoa), Anna Marie Montijo (Adelphi University, New York), Hannah Nguyen (doctoral student, UCLA, California; and CSWE MFP Fellow), Debora M. Ortega (University of Denver, Colorado), Joe M. Schriver (University of Arkansas), Andrea M. Stewart (University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff), Peter B. Vaughan (Fordham University, New York), Barbara W. White (University of Texas at Austin), Janlee Wong (executive director, NASW California Chapter), and Bonnie Lee Yegidis (University of South Florida)