Last November, Linfield president Dr. Miles K. Davis resigned from the position, citing family obligations. Since then, the Linfield Board of Trustees has been working to find his successor. The search officially kicked off with the conclusion of the last academic year, and the search will continue through the end of the calendar year.
Due to Davis’ resignation, Dr. Rebecca L. Johnson has served as Linfield’s interim president. Johnson previously served as the interim president at Oregon State University in 2021-22. She is set to serve until a new president has been selected and hired.
Currently, the presidential search is in its final stage, with on campus interviews being conducted.
“We hope to invite two to three finalist candidates to both campuses for interviews by the middle to end of November,” Kirby Dyess, one of the co-chairs of the Presidential Search Committee, said. “Students will definitely have a chance to meet these candidates and provide input.”
The search committee is using the 14 attributes of leadership that were outlined in the presidential profile that was sent out when the search began. These attributes include being a mission-focused leader, an effective thinker and strategic planner, a role model and a student-centered educator. The search committee is using these attributes to select the university’s next president. The full list and profile can be found on the presidential search’s website.
As for what students want to see in the next university president, there isn’t much. Most students around campus simply didn’t care and some were completely unaware that the university was looking for a new president.
The search committee, however, is confident that the next president of Linfield will be a good one. With finalists being on campus this week, students will have an opportunity to meet and talk with each of the candidates, with availability to submit feedback. Links to the surveys are available on a presidential search update email sent out to all students.
The finalists include Dr. Mark Blegen of Carroll University. Blegen is the current provost, vice president for academic affairs and professor. Blegen visited campus last week. The other three candidates are visiting campus this week. The first is Dr. Jody S. Fournier, provost and vice president of learning at Capital University. He had an open forum on the McMinnville campus on Monday. Second is Dr. William Rudd, former president at Marietta College. He will have an open forum Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. in the Ice Auditorium. Finally, there is Dr. Debbie Tahmassebi, the provost at Westminster University. Tahmassebi will have an open forum Friday at 3:30 p.m. in the Ice Auditorium.
“We will hope to have a selection by the Linfield Board of Regents by the end of December,” Dyess said.
There is currently no public timetable for when the new president will be selected and announced.
