President

President

Drew University stands at an inflection point in its history and seeks a bold visionary who is innovative, entrepreneurial, inspiring, and financially astute to serve as its 15^th President, beginning July 1, 2023.

Established in 1867 as a seminary, Drew University is located thirty miles west of New York City in Madison, New Jersey. Notable for its strength in the liberal arts, the quality of its academic programs, the beauty of its campus, its historic links to the United Methodist Church, and its proximity to the intellectual, business, and cultural resources of New York City and the NY/NJ metropolitan area, Drew University is a unique institution of higher learning. The University comprises the College of Liberal Arts, the Theological School, and the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies. Together, they enroll over 2,200 students and have 231 staff and 134 full-time faculty, 96 percent of whom hold the terminal degree in their field.

The University was re-accredited by The Middle States Commission on Higher Education in early 2022. One of the leading private liberal arts institutions in New Jersey, Drew has been named one of The Princeton Review’s Best Value Schools of 2022. This marks the fourth consecutive year that Drew has placed among the nation’s top value schools. Additionally, The Princeton Review features Drew in The Best 388 Colleges, its Guide to Green Colleges, and as one of only 50 Colleges That Create Futures.

Drew University’s mission is to offer its diverse community of learners a challenging and individualized education shaped by a deep-rooted culture of mentoring, thoughtful engagement with the world beyond its campus, and a steadfast commitment to lifelong cultivation of the whole person. Through its distinctive emphasis on the reciprocity of knowledge, experience, and service, Drew prepares its students to flourish both personally and professionally as they add to the world’s good by responding to the urgent challenges of our time with rigorous, independent, and imaginative thought. Drew’s one-of-a-kind, undergraduate career development platform, “Launch,” ensures that every student graduates with a purpose, sought-after transferable skills, a network of mentors, and an experience-based résumé. Ninety-four percent of recent Drew undergraduates were employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation.

The College is also especially noted for preparing students for graduate studies, including dual-degree programs with the Caspersen School and the Theological School. Drew has also established several dual-degree programs leading to a bachelor’s degree from Drew and an advanced degree from partnership schools such as Columbia, Duke, Drexel, Seton Hall, NJ Medical School, BU, and NYU.

While Drew has seen numerous successes in recent years, including the addition of fourteen new academic programs, stronger connectivity across its schools, increased enrollment, and improved retention and graduation rates, the University continues to focus on budget issues and enrollment opportunities. The next President of Drew University will build on the work that has begun over the past few years to address these areas and will take significant and bold additional steps, including: creating and implementing a long-term strategic plan; devising strategies to boost market recognition and enrollment; leading the execution of a capital campaign; thoughtfully stewarding the University’s resources; and cultivating strong relationships with Drew’s internal and external communities. The incoming President will need to assess Drew’s operations swiftly and objectively from an academic, administrative, and financial perspective and be ready to make critical decisions while inspiring the Drew community to come together and invest in Drew’s future.

The incoming President will bring a record of demonstrated results and an unparalleled level of creativity and business-minded strategy in areas of finance, marketing, organizational leadership, and programmatic growth, among others. The next President of Drew must be able to confidently navigate the challenges and opportunities that accompany small liberal arts institutions while fostering a collaborative, supportive, and positive environment in which all members of the University are able to thrive and contribute. Above all, the next President of Drew must display a contagious enthusiasm for the University and incite action and support from a diverse array of constituents, new and old. Those from non-traditional backgrounds outside of academia who possess knowledge of, and experience with, how a university or college operates are encouraged to apply.

For best consideration, please send all nominations and applications, electronically and in confidence, to:

Ruth Shoemaker Wood, Ph.D., Managing Director

Julia Patton, Senior Search Associate

Storbeck Search

DrewPresident@storbecksearch.com

To enrich education through diversity, Drew University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.