Current President D. Merrill Ewert, Ph.D., announced June 1 he will retire effective July 31, 2012. He took office June 1, 2002.
Dingman Company representatives will be on campus August 17-19 to begin gathering information from faculty, staff and others in the university community. From this the search firm and search committee will create an "opportunity profile" describing the experience, management style and other characteristics the university community seeks in a president.
Education and religious organizations are among the areas in which Dingman specializes, according to its website (dingman.com). The firm focuses on searches for the first- and second-level leaders such as CEOs, president and general managers, along with the functional vice presidents reporting to those positions.
FPU Board Chair John Thiesen, search committee co-chair, expressed satisfaction with the progress so far. "It has been very rewarding to see the FPU family willing not only to be participants, but also to provide input into the process of selecting a new president. We know the Lord has someone already out there selected for us, it's our responsibility to identify that person who will lead the university into the next season."
Larry Martens, former board chair, is also search committee co-chair. Other voting members are:
Carol DeBellis, director of human resources Joan Eaton, community representative, realtor Don Eskes, community representative, neighborhood development Linda Hoff, associate professor of education Robert Leitgeb, president, staff executive Alan Ours, vice president of institutional technology, chief information officer Deb Palmer, trustee Jaime Ramirez, athletics Kevin Reimer, dean, School of Humanities, Religion and Social Sciences Valerie Rempel, associate professor of theology Yami Rodriguez, trustee Cindy Steele, executive director of regional centers Richard Unruh, professor of political science Gonzo Villegas, student president Gary Wall, conference minister, Pacific District Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches Angulus Wilson, university pastor