By Shane Madden
The Grand Rapids Community College Board of Trustees met June 1, to discuss and deliberate the process for selecting a replacement for outgoing President Bill Pink.
Previously, the board had decided on the use of a “search firm,” a special recruitment service organizations use to seek out high quality candidates for senior level jobs, a type of service the GRCC board has employed in the past. This meeting focused on two firms in particular, Gold Hill Associates and AGB Search (Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges), each with their own distinct merits. Both firms were involved in the hiring and eventual promotion of President Pink at GRCC.
Chairperson David Koetje made sure to mention GRCC’s positive past experiences with both firms.
“The interesting part of this is AGB brought us Bill Pink as Dean of Workforce development seven years ago,” Koetje said. “Gold Hill brought us Bill Pink as president. So we know them and they know us.”
It was noted that both these firms are involved in not only headhunting to fill positions, but also in coaching and developing candidates for future opportunities.
Additionally, members of the board mentioned the importance of finalizing the “candidate profile,” a reverse resume of sorts that details the ideal traits a candidate should possess. The board also emphasized the importance of keeping the profile broad enough to achieve a large and diverse pool of candidates.
Trustee Daniel Williams expressed the importance of maintaining a large and diverse candidate pool throughout the process.
“One of things we’ve been cautioned on in making the profile specific, sometimes in looking for this perfect person, this unicorn, all of a sudden your pool gets small (from too many search parameters),” Williams said.
The candidate profile should be completed in the coming week before a final decision is made.
The Board of Trustees is set to meet Monday June 13, to select a search firm and begin the process of finding GRCC’s new president.
View the board meeting calendar here.
