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We are pleased to announce that the search for Santa Clara University’s next President has commenced.

On June 28, 2021, the Board voted to amend the University’s bylaws to remove the requirement that the University’s President must be a Jesuit priest. By expanding our eligible applicant pool, this amendment opens up an exciting and unprecedented opportunity for the University to recruit a broad set of candidates across diverse backgrounds who have the necessary skills to lead our University. Importantly, our amended bylaws require that the appointed President “shall be fully familiar with, and committed to, the purposes, identity, and mission of Santa Clara University as a Jesuit, Catholic university.”

The Search Committee, and our entire Board of Trustees, are fully committed to ensuring that our next selected President is aligned with our Jesuit values and well-positioned to lead with those values while guiding the University forward. We expect to attract highly experienced candidates who have demonstrated strong leadership as well as economic and academic acumen.

Search Committee

In late June, 2021, the Board of Trustees appointed several Board members to serve on the Search Committee, naming Vice Chair of the Board, Fr. Matthew Carnes, S.J., as committee chair.

Work began over summer 2021 to make further appointments to the Committee, including soliciting nominations from the faculty and staff community. In order to create opportunities for student engagement and involvement in the search process, the Search Committee also reached out to Associated Student Government leadership and the undergraduate and graduate student community.

On Aug. 11, the names of selected Search Committee members were announced (below), and soon after, the executive search firm, WittKieffer, was retained to assist in the search process. Most of the work on the search is expected to take place in the fall, when the full University community is available to be part of the conversation. The Committee welcomes nominations from all in the community. Nominations can be sent directly to WittKieffer at SantaClaraPresident@wittkieffer.com. Suggestions and/or comments regarding the search process can be sent to presidentialsearch@scu.edu. In addition, throughout the process the committee will continue to post updates to this website. 

Matthew Carnes, S.J., M.Div. ’03 (Chair)

Santa Clara University, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees


Aldo Billingslea

Father William J. Rewak, S. J., Professor of Theatre Arts

Laura Doyle

Lecturer, Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering; Assessment Liaison, Office of Assessment

Rebecca Guerra ‘73, MBA ‘78

Santa Clara University, Trustee

Tim Haley ‘81

Santa Clara University, Trustee 

Molly Joseph, ‘96

Santa Clara University, Trustee

Erin Kimura-Walsh ‘98

Director, LEAD Scholars Program

Sergio Lopez ‘91

Director, Annual Giving Strategies, University Relations

Jeff Miller ’73, MBA ’76

Santa Clara University, Trustee

Bob Smith

Santa Clara University, Trustee

Larry W. Sonsini, Hon. '04

Santa Clara University, Chair of the Board of Trustees 

Paul Soukup, S.J., M.Div, ‘78, S.T.M. ‘79 

Pedro Arrupe, S.J., Professor, Communication Department

Agnieszka Winkler, MBA '81 

Santa Clara University, Trustee

 

President Leadership Profile

Search Updates

 

Search Committee Meetings

  • August 13, 2021: Search Committee Meeting
  • August 30, 2021: Search Committee Meeting
  • September 13, 2021: Search Committee Meeting
  • September 27, 2021: Search Committee Meeting
  • October 11, 2021: Search Committee Meeting
  • November 29, 2021: Search Committee Meeting
  • December 20, 2021: Search Committee Meeting

Outreach Meetings

Representatives from various stakeholder groups below have met with the WittKieffer team and members of the Search Committee:

  • September 13, 2021: Faculty leaders, student leaders, and staff leaders
  • September 15, 2021: Board of Fellows
  • September 20, 2021: Bronco Bench Foundation
  • September 21, 2021: Deans and Acting Provosts
  • September 21, 2021: Alumni Association Leadership
  • September 22, 2021: Board of Trustees
  • September 22, 2021: Board of Regents
  • September 24, 2021: Board of Trustees
  • September 28, 2021: Open Forum - Faculty
  • September 30, 2021: Open Forum - Staff
  • September 30, 2021: JST Jesuit Community
  • October 1, 2021: JST Board of Directors
  • October 5, 2021: President's Cabinet
  • October 7, 2021: Open Forum - Students
  • October 16, 2021: Santa Clara Jesuit Community

Search Timeline*

  • August - October: Develop position profile, broad outreach, solicitation of candidate names
  • October - December: Recruitment and Candidate Engagement
  • December - January: Selection of semi-finalist candidates and candidate interviews
  • February: Finalist interviews and recommendations to Board of Trustees

*This timeline is a general guideline.

Contact Us

If you have questions or comments for the search committee, contact us at presidentialsearch@scu.edu.

Email the Committee