In a Dec. 3 email to the Seattle University population, Chair of the Board of Trustees Patrick Callans announced the school’s plans to move forward with the presidential selection process following an Oct. 15 announcement that current university president Eduardo Peñalver would be leaving for a new role as president of Georgetown at the end of winter quarter. They shared the chairs of the committee, how various student and faculty entities would be represented in the committee and in decision-making processes and that more information would come in January.
The search to find Seattle U’s next president will be led by co-chairs Jason Oliver and Ana White, both of whom are trustees and alumni of the university. Oliver, ‘00, has worked in Human Resources, Talent Acquisition and as an executive at AT&T and Apple. He is currently self-employed in business consulting. White, ‘95, has held consulting, Human Resources, and executive positions at Watson Wyatt Worldwide, Microsoft, F5 and is currently the Chief People Officer and Executive Vice President at Lumen Technologies.
In addition to the co-chairs, the committee will include seven trustees, a member of the President’s Roundtable, a dean, the President of the Academic Assembly, one additional faculty member, a non-faculty staff member and a student. They will also consult with other bodies, including the Academic Assembly, Staff Council and the Student Government of Seattle University.
The search committee will be working with global leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds Associates. This firm was also used by Gonzaga in their 2024 presidential search. This marks a departure from Seattle U’s last presidential search, which used the firm WittKieffer.
Come January, the committee will hold listening sessions and a survey to give faculty, staff, students and alumni a chance to share what they would like to see in a new president. Responses will be considered in writing the leadership profile and position description. The committee will also publish a website with more details on committee members and the search process at the start of the winter quarter.
