Presidential Search

PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH

Dr. Colleen Derr Selected as 15th President

For four years, Dr. Jack Connell has been wholeheartedly dedicated to energetically leading Eastern Nazarene College. We are appreciative of the challenging work and grateful for the results he achieved. Now that he has decided to pursue the next phase of his life, ENC is embarking on a presidential search.

Introduction

The Board of Trustees seeks as its President, a Spirit-led person of prayer and action, who pursues godly wisdom and demonstrates humility in both life and leadership. The selected candidate will be a person above reproach, entrepreneurial, optimistic, collaborative, and steadfast in their commitment and affirmation of the Mission, Vision, and Values of Eastern Nazarene College and the Covenant of Christian Character of the Church of the Nazarene.

ENC is a place where the Spirit makes the difference, where the words of our first dean, Bertha Munro, actively ring true, “There is no conflict between the best in education and the best in Christian faith.”  Our next president has an opportunity to apply faithful, dynamic leadership to advance the College in its mission to provide transformational education that equips diverse students to lead and serve our world as agents of Christ’s love and truth.

Partner With Us

Please partner with us by praying for:

  • The person God has out there to become the next President of ENC
  • The 15 members of the Presidential Search Committee
  • The 8 Nazarene Districts who prayerfully and financially support the College
  • CarterBaldwin, our search firm
  • Current students, professors, and staff
  • Future students
  • The Board of Trustees
  • The process that will move us from ~200 to 1 (see Anticipated Timeline)

Presidential Search Committee

The Presidential Search Committee (PSC) is charged with identifying, recruiting, and vetting exceptional candidates for the Office of President of Eastern Nazarene College. We have engaged CarterBaldwin to support this process, which will eventually move from 150-200 people to a final candidate the PSC will recommended to the Board of Trustees who will do the final vetting and decide whether to ultimately hire the final candidate.

The Board of Trustees has put in place a strong 15-member Presidential Search Committee.

  • 9 Trustees (two District Superintendents)
  • 2 faculty representatives
  • 1 alumni representative
  • 1 staff representative
  • 1 student representative
  • 1 President’s Cabinet representative

Their constituency selected representatives; the Board of Trustee Chair chose Trustees.  The full slate of members was then approved by the entire Board of Trustees.  Board Trustee Dr. Stephen Wilson (’91) has been selected to chair the committee.

The PSC is committed to a process  that engages the diverse perspectives and expertise of the Eastern Nazarene College community in search of our next President. In addition to its make up as described above, the PSC is diverse by age, race, sex, gender, occupation, and stage of life. We have intentionally sought feedback from alumni, students, faculty, staff, and trustees. We are dedicated to seeking the best candidates available and have hired a search firm to support and enhance our efforts. CarterBaldwin Executive Search is expert in Christian College president and leadership searches and has a record of accomplishment of conducting holistic searches, including ones that have culminated in minority and female hires.

Presidential Search Committee Members

  • Stephen Wilson (‘91) Search Committee Chair –  Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and Chief of Family Medicine Boston Medical Center; Board of Trustees
  • Bruce Barnard – Director of The Manhattan Initiative and Director of Finance and Operations for the Metro NY District; Board of Trustees
  • Janelle Beiler (‘92) – Therapist at LifeMark; Alumni Representative
  • David Bowser (‘79) – Mid-Atlantic District Superintendent; Board of Trustees
  • Sheryl Burt (‘86) – Chemical Hygiene Officer/Lab Manager/Instructor Natural Sciences; Faculty Representative
  • Ryan Calhoun(‘08)  – Behavioral Health Clinic Chief for the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, Fort Drum, NY; Board of Trustees
  • Krista Casler (‘99) – Senior Adjunct Professor of Psychology; Board of Trustees
  • Tyra Davis (‘24) – SGA President; Student Representative
  • Melody Eckardt – OBGYN at Monadnock Community Hospital, global maternal health consultant and educator, and House Speaker for the Massachusetts Medical Society; Board of Trustees Chair
  • James Heyward (‘91) – Lead Pastor Salem Fields Community Church; Board of Trustees Secretary
  • Vicki Schow – Associate Professor Social Sciences; Faculty Representative
  • Jim Sheets (‘92) – Director of Adult, Graduate, and Online Admissions; Staff Representative
  • Ian Slater – Vice President for Student Life; President’s Cabinet Representative
  • Ken Stanford (‘77) – New England District Superintendent; Board of Trustees

Anticipated Timeline

  1. November 1- December 30:  Applications accepted
  2. Mid-January:  Semi-finalists selected
  3. Early February: Finalists determined
  4. Late February/Early March: Finalists Interviewed
  5. Late March:  Final candidate presented to the Board of Trustees
  6. TBD: Announcement of new President
  7. TBD: President begins first term

Search Firm

Eastern Nazarene College is collaborating with CarterBaldwin Executive Search to lead the search for its next President. CarterBaldwin has extensive experience leading searches for presidential and C-suite positions at Christian universities nationwide.

Applications and Nominations

Applications and nominations will be accepted until a new President is appointed. Candidates should submit a resume or CV and Letter of Interest addressed to the presidential search committee by December 20, 2022.

Nominations, expressions of interest, and applications will be treated with complete confidentiality and should be submitted directly to ENCPresident@carterbaldwin.com. Confidential inquiries and questions concerning this search may be directed to the following individuals.

Bill Peterson
Partner
678.448.0013
bpeterson@carterbaldwin.com

Michael Nichols, Ed.D.
Executive Search Consultant
904.629.7555
mnichols@carterbaldwin.com

Jake Hooper
Research Consultant
470.574.5890
jhooper@carterbaldwin.com

Allison Cohn
Search Coordinator
770.238.1357
acohn@carterbaldwin.com

Presidential Search Updates

Eastern Nazarene College Names Colleen Derr its 15th President

Eastern Nazarene College Board of Trustees announces the appointment of Dr. Colleen Derr as the school’s 15th President. She succeeds Dr. Jack Connell, who announced he will resign at the completion of this term and academic year. ENC partnered with CarterBaldwin...

March 2023 Update: Narrowing the Field

March 2023 Update: Narrowing the Field

The work of the committee is ongoing. We have narrowed the field of candidates down to a small number of finalists and are working prayerfully and diligently to arrive at a recommendation for the Board of Trustees. The Presidential Search Committee members, while...

January 2023 Update: Semi-finalists Selected

January 2023 Update: Semi-finalists Selected

As previously communicated, the Board of Trustees has engaged the search firm CarterBaldwin Executive Search to assist with the Presidential Search.  Their team and the Presidential Search Committee (PSC) have been encouraged by the high level of interest and the...