Search-Related Announcements
Archive of announcements related to Kutztown University's President Search.
Philip Cavalier Named President of Kutztown University
April 30, 2025
HARRISBURG, Pa. – PASSHE's Board of Governors unanimously selected Philip Cavalier, Ph.D., to be the next president of Kutztown University following a nationwide search.
KU Presidential Search Update from Council of Trustees Chair Giorno
April 10, 2025
Dear KU Campus Community,
The Council of Trustees held a special meeting this afternoon to approve Dr. Philip Cavalier and Dr. Matt Cecil for further consideration as the next president of Kutztown University.
Drs. Cavalier and Cecil were recommended to the Council of Trustees by the search committee earlier this week at the conclusion of an extensive six-month national search process. The two candidates will meet with the State System staff, Board of Governors and chancellor later this month. KU’s new president is expected to be named before the end of the spring semester.
I want to thank the members of the campus community who attended the open forums over the past two weeks and provided us with thoughtful and valuable feedback. I hope everyone will join me in thanking the members of our presidential search committee who worked diligently for most of the academic year to help identify our next leader. I also want to thank the president’s office staff and the many members of the campus community who made the candidates’ visits to campus so special.
Finally, I want to thank our applicants and those candidates who interviewed during our first and second rounds. We had a very strong pool, and I am confident many of those individuals will serve as college presidents in the years ahead.
The Council of Trustees looks forward to the final selection in the weeks ahead and joining you all in welcoming our 13th president to campus in July.
Sincerely,
Dennis Giorno
Chair, KU Council of Trustees
Chair, KU Presidential Search Committee
Upcoming Open Forums for KU Presidential Candidates
March 20, 2025 (last updated April 2, 2025)
Save the date and schedules for upcoming open forums with presidential candidates.
Campus Update on KU Presidential Search
March 5, 2025
Dear Kutztown University Community:
As part of our commitment to keep the community updated as the KU presidential search process moves forward, I would like to share with you where we are now.
Over the last few weeks, the search committee met virtually to conduct the final review of applications and selected a group of candidates for initial, face-to-face video interviews. After completing those interviews, the committee identified a smaller group of candidates for deep reference checking. We will conduct those references and further due diligence on the candidates over the course of the next few weeks.
Based on the referencing, the committee will select a small group of candidates to visit campus during the weeks of March 24 and March 31. We expect to provide more information on the specific dates and meeting times shortly.
All candidates who come to campus will participate in several forums with various constituents. All faculty, administrators, staff, students, and alumni/foundation board members will be invited to in-person forums on campus. We invite and encourage everyone to participate in these forums.
Attendees will be asked to provide feedback to the committee after the forums, which will be collected via an online survey. That feedback will assist the search committee in its final report to the KU Council of Trustees.
As we have mentioned throughout this search, a thorough search for a university president requires a careful balance between transparency of the process and confidentiality, including individual candidates’ names until we reach the campus interview stage. We thank you for understanding that the best candidates require confidentiality and that the committee members have all agreed to abide by this rule.
Thank you for your support, as we continue with this important search.
Sincerely,
Dennis Giorno
Chair, Kutztown University Presidential Search Committee
Chair, Kutztown University Council of Trustees
Update on KU Presidential Search
February 24, 2025
Dear Kutztown University Community:
I am pleased to provide you with an update regarding the university’s presidential search. We spent the fall meeting with multiple constituencies on campus – more than 20 meetings with faculty, staff, students, administrators, alumni, and community leaders.
Over the course of the last few months, we advertised the position and aggressively contacted more than 500 prospective candidates for this position, and to date, we have received and reviewed credentials on approximately 75 individuals. The candidates represent a very diverse pool of leaders within and outside of higher education, including sitting and former presidents, vice presidents and deans.
Over the last week, the search committee met and identified a group of candidates for first round interviews. We will complete those initial interviews over the next few weeks. Following the interviews and initial reference checking, selected candidates will be invited to campus to meet with a wide range of constituent groups, local leaders, and the council of trustees. We are targeting the weeks of March 24 and 31 for those meetings. Continuing candidates would then be recommended to the State System chancellor and the board of governors by the council of trustees for further consideration.
A search for a university president requires a careful balance between transparency of the process and confidentiality, including individual candidates’ names, until we reach the campus stage. The names of those candidates who come to campus will be released 48 hours in advance of their visit.
We thank you for understanding that the best candidates require confidentiality and that the committee members have all agreed to abide by this rule.
Thank you for your support, and best wishes for a successful spring semester as we move forward with this important search.
Dennis Giorno
Chair, Kutztown University Presidential Search Committee
Chair, Kutztown University Council of Trustees
Final Kutztown University Presidential Search Profile
Updated: Dec. 9. 2024
Dear KU Campus Community,
We are excited to share the final Kutztown University Presidential Profile document that will be used to help recruit our next president. Since sharing the initial draft last week, we did a final proof of the copy and another check on a number of data points. Among the adjustments were clarification on commonwealth funding and university employee diversity data.
In addition, the profile is now complete with graphics and images touting our campus community and beautiful grounds (thanks to University Marketing for its assistance). The Presidential Profile can now be viewed publicly on our President Search website.
In addition, Storbeck Search, will use the document as a part of its direct recruitment efforts, which are now underway.
I will continue to keep you all posted as new updates become available, most likely at the beginning of the spring semester in late January. In the meantime, I wish you all a safe and joyous holiday season.
Sincerely,
Dennis Giorno
Chair, KU Council of Trustees
Chair, KU President Search Committee
Survey from the KU Presidential Search Committee
Dec. 2, 2024
Dear Kutztown University Community,
As we begin the process to identify the next President for Kutztown University, I am pleased to give you an update regarding what we have done, where we are now, and what the next steps in the process look like. Our search consultants, Susan Van Gilder and Steve Leo from Storbeck Search, were on campus before Thanksgiving and met with staff, faculty, students, administrators and alumni in several open forums.
For those who were not able to attend these sessions in person, we would like to hear from you! Please take a few minutes to complete this important survey and share your thoughts about the priorities, traits, experiences and practices that you think the next Kutztown University should possess. Your responses are confidential and will go directly to our search firm, where they will be aggregated and analyzed.
Thank you in advance for taking a few minutes to complete this survey.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KutztownPresidentSearchSurvey
In addition to filling out the survey, we invite you to nominate individuals whom you believe the committee should consider for President of Kutztown University by emailing names and information to KutztownPresident@storbecksearch.com.
The search committee is committed to being as transparent and communicative as possible. To this end, a presidential search website has been created, which will allow the search committee to provide updates and important information to the community. Included on the website is our recently approved position profile, along with the search committee membership list and other important information. We anticipate that the search will continue into the spring, with the goal of identifying a small group of candidates to invite to campus in late March or early April. We will be sharing more information as the process advances.
A search for a President requires a careful balance between transparency of the process and confidentiality, including individual candidates’ names, until we reach the finalist stage. We thank you for understanding that the best candidates require confidentiality and that the committee members have all agreed to abide by this rule.
Thank you for your support as we move forward with this important search.
Sincerely,
Dennis Giorno
Chair, Kutztown University Presidential Search Committee
Chair, Kutztown University Council of Trustees
Invitation from the Presidential Search Committee
Nov. 7, 2024
The following notice was sent to campus stakeholders on Nov. 7.
The search for the 13th president of Kutztown University is underway. The search committee leadership contracted Storbeck Search as the firm to assist our search committee with the process of identifying Kutztown University’s next leader.
One of the important aspects of the search is to solicit feedback on what we are seeking in our next president from various campus stakeholders. Storbeck will be on campus Thursday, Nov. 21, to hold input sessions with seven different stakeholder groups.
The following campus groups are invited to attend the following stakeholder input sessions with Storbeck representatives:
KU Presidential Search Stakeholder Sessions - Thursday, Nov. 21 - 250 McFarland Student Union
9 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Union Leadership (by invitation only)
10 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Extended Cabinet (by invitation only)
11 a.m. – noon Faculty
noon – 1 p.m. Community/Government Relations (by invitation only)
1 p.m. – 2 p.m. Staff
2:30 p.m. -3:30 p.m. Students
6 p.m. – 7 p.m. Alumni (this meeting will be conducted via Zoom)
Update from Presidential Search Committee
Oct. 23, 2024
After a thorough interview process, Storbeck Search has been selected by the KU Council of Trustee representatives as the search firm to assist with the upcoming KU Presidential Search. Storbeck will be on campus this week to meet with the search committee and select members of the administration. Storbeck will return in November to meet with and receive feedback from the KU campus community.
Matt Santos, University Relations and Athletics (staff liaison)
Council of Trustees Approve Presidential Search Committee at Thursday's September Meeting
Sept. 26, 2024
The Kutztown University Council of Trustees approved its presidential search committee membership to highlight the Council’s September board meeting Thursday afternoon, Sept. 26.
“On behalf of the Council of Trustees, I want to congratulate Dr. Hawkinson on his retirement decision and thank him for all he has done for this institution,” said Dennis Giorno, chair of the KU Council of Trustees. “We still have nine-plus months with Dr. Hawkinson to celebrate his tenure. In the meantime, the focus of the Council of Trustees this year will be to search for his successor. We began this process immediately after Dr. Hawkinson’s announcement and voted (Thursday) to approve a talented, expansive and diverse search committee (Thursday afternoon). Our plan is to identify a new president in April to begin in July.”
KU Presidential Search Update from Council of Trustees Chair Giorno
Sept. 5, 2024
Dear Kutztown University Community:
As you know, President Hawkinson has announced his intention to retire in the summer of 2025. I am writing to inform you of the process for selecting the next president of our university.
While the PASSHE Board of Governors—in consultation with the Chancellor—ultimately appoints the president, the search process is primarily driven at the university level. This is rightly so, because it is our students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends who will work most closely with whomever is chosen to fill the role.
I am pleased to report that the Chancellor has granted the KU Council of Trustees authorization to initiate the search process. According to commonwealth law, the Council has responsibility to “make recommendations to the Chancellor for the appointment of the president following input by students, faculty, staff and alumni who reflect the diversity of the institution,” and we take that duty seriously.
We will begin by appointing a search committee that is representative of the university community and its diverse range of stakeholders. The search committee will gather input from students, faculty, staff, alumni and other stakeholders and will make its recommendation to the Council of Trustees, which in turn will consider the options and transmit its recommendation to the Chancellor and Board of Governors. It is the Board of Governors that is responsible for appointing the university’s next president from the “name or names of individuals submitted by the Council of Trustees.”
We will now begin the work of constituting the Presidential Search Committee by identifying members according to PASSHE procedure and standards. The search committee will consist of a mix of students, faculty, staff, alumni and others, and I will be reaching out to the appropriate representative groups that are tasked with identifying some of those members.
To assist in guiding the operations of this search, I have appointed Matt Santos, KU’s vice president for University Relations & Athletics, as the staff liaison to the Council of Trustees and the Search Committee. Matt will serve as the point of contact for any questions and will be assisted by other university staff to support as needed. He may be contacted at santos@kutztown.edu.
We look forward to getting this process underway and working together to craft the next chapter in the life of this great University.
Sincerely,
Dennis A. Giorno
Chair