Presidential Search Committee Announced by Adelphi University Board of Trustees

Adelphi University Board Chairman Robert B. Willumstad ’05 (Hon.) has announced the membership of the search committee for the 10th president of the University. The committee will be assisted in this national search by the executive recruiting firm Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates. On July 1, 2015, Dr. Robert A. Scott will conclude 15 years of exceptional service as Adelphi’s president.

The committee, composed of trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni, was selected by the board officers and the chair of the Trustee Affairs Committee, and will be co-chaired by Mr. Willumstad, senior advisor at Brysam Global Advisors, and Dr. Gerry House, chair of the board’s Academic Affairs Committee and president and chief executive officer of the Institute for Student Achievement. Joining the co-chairs of the committee are:

• Frank Angello ’77, secretary of the Board of Trustees, and former chief financial officer, Lighthouse International, and former chief financial officer of the Treasury & Securities Services Group at JPMorgan Treasury & Securities Services Group
• Dr. Robert Bornstein, professor, Adelphi University’s Derner Institute for Advanced Psychological Studies
• Dr. Richard Garner, dean of the Adelphi University Honors College
• Dr. Joan Girgus, member of the Board of Trustees and professor of psychology and special assistant to the dean of the faculty at Princeton University
• Chantal Hamlin ’07, member of the Board of Trustees and interim executive director of Brooklyn Jubilee
• Noreen Harrington ’81, member of the Board of Trustees and Alternative Investments at M.D. Sass
• Dilara Islam, a current mathematics major and Levermore Global Scholar, expected to graduate in May 2016.
• Marlon Louison, a current senior psychology major graduating in May 2014 and pursuing his master’s in school psychology this fall in the University’s Derner Institute for Advanced Psychological Studies
• Thomas F. Motamed ’71, vice chair of the Board of Trustees and chairman and chief executive officer of CNA Financial Corporation
• Dr. Susan Murphy, member of the Board of Trustees and vice president for student and academic services, Cornell University
• Helene Sullivan ’79, member of the Board of Trustees and retired chief financial officer, Save the Children
• Dr. Andrea Ward, associate professor, department of biology in the Adelphi University College of Arts and Sciences

To assist the committee in its national search, the board retained executive recruiting firm Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, a recognized leader in higher education executive search. The firm will play an active role in guiding the process that will result in the selection of a new leader who will build upon the outstanding accomplishments achieved at the University since Dr. Scott’s arrival in 2000.

“The board interviewed several firms for this engagement and believed that Storbeck/Pimentel offered the University the depth and expertise to guide us as we undertake this effort on behalf of the faculty, students, staff and alumni of the University,” said Mr. Willumstad. “We have begun working with managing partner Shelly Storbeck to develop a process that will ensure an excellent outcome.”

The University has established a presidential search website to keep the University community informed about the progress of the search.

Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates specializes in higher education executive recruitment for colleges and universities, with additional practices in independent school and nonprofit recruitment. One third of all of the searches conducted by Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates are for the top leadership positions – president, chancellor, head, or CEO; one third are for provost and vice-presidential level positions in areas such as development, finance, and administration; and one third are at the dean level or below. According to Shelly Storbeck, “Storbeck/Pimentel believes that the right leader at the right time can make all the difference in the success of an institution. Consequently, our mission is to identify and thoroughly understand what is distinctive about each client and its institutional needs in order to find and recruit the leader best suited for long-term success. We take pride in the deep knowledge, expert judgment, and unparalleled integrity that we bring to each search.” Collectively, Storbeck/Pimentel consultants have conducted more than 2,000 executive-level higher education searches over the last 20 years. The firm has over 30 consultants and is located in two main offices (Los Angeles and Philadelphia) and several satellite offices.