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
As Central Michigan University begins the national search for its 16th president, the CMU Board of Trustees is asking for community input.
The presidential search advisory committee, led by Trustee Denise Williams Mallett, will host several virtual listening sessions to engage students, faculty, staff, alumni, community partners and supporters in the development of a new presidential profile. The discussion will provide stakeholders opportunities to share thoughts on the required experience, values, priorities and characteristics that will be most important for the university’s next leader.
The virtual sessions will be facilitated by search firm WittKieffer and can be accessed on the appropriate date and time using the links below.
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
- Faculty listening session, 2:00-2:45 p.m.
- Staff listening session, 3:00-3:45 p.m.
- Student listening session, 4:00-4:45 p.m.
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
- Community partner listening session, 1:30-2:15 p.m.
- Open session for all CMU stakeholders, 2:30-3:15 p.m.
All CMU community members, partners and supporters also can use the online submission form to provide input.
Input received from listening sessions and the online form will guide development of the presidential profile and job description, which will be used to advertise the position in late spring and summer.
Additional information about the presidential search is available on the presidential search webpage and the presidential search frequently asked questions webpage.