Presidential Search Timeline 2011

April 2011:

  • 04.13.11 | President Elaine Tuttle Hansen announces her plan to step down as president of Bates College, effective June 30, 2011.
  • 04.13.11 | The Board of Trustees announces the appointment of Nancy J. Cable, Vice President and Dean of Enrollment and Externals Affairs, as Interim President.

May 2011:

  • 05.13.11 | The Board of Trustees announces the appointment of trustees Valerie Smith ’75 and Michael Chu ’80, P’12 as co-chairs of the Presidential Search Committee.
  • 05.13.11 | The Board of Trustees announces the hiring of search consultants Storbeck-Pimentel to assist in the Presidential search process.
  • 05.23.11 | The Board of Trustees announces the full formation of the Presidential Search Committee.
  • 05.23.11 | Members of the Presidential Search Committee begin a series of listening sessions across campus with faculty, staff and students.

June 2011:

  • 06.01.11 | The college launches the Presidential Search website
  • 06.11.11 | Members of the Presidential Search Committee host listening sessions with alumni during Reunion Weekend 2011.
  • 06.15.11 | The Presidential Search committee, in consultation with Storbeck-Pimentel, complete the Presidential Prospectus and officially begin the search process, inviting nominations for Bates’ next leader.
  • 06.15.11 | Advertising for position of President of Bates College begins.

July 2011:

  • July to September | The Presidential Search Committee continues to reach out and develop the candidate pool for review and consideration by the Search Committee.

September 2011:

  • 09.04.11In their end-of-summer update Search Committee Co-Chairs Michael Chu ’80 and Valerie Smith ’75 note that “we have been impressed by the size, diversity and quality of the pool.”

October 2011:

  • October | Michael Chu tells Bates Magazine that “anyone who looks at the college” during the presidential search “will come away deeply impressed.”
  • 10.14.11 | In their fall update, Chu and Smith note that “all of the candidates currently under review have made a point of telling us that they were compelled to consider the opportunity because of the college’s strong standing, distinctive history and core values.”
  • 10.28.11 | Chu and Smith and other Search Committee members meet with the Bates campus community for a discussion forum and an update.

December 2011:

  • 12.03.11 | The Board of Trustees gathers in Boston for a special meeting, at which time the board votes to elect Clayton Spencer as the college’s eighth president.
  • 12.04.11 | President-elect Clayton Spencer is announced and introduced at a special all-campus gathering in the Clifton Daggett Gray Athletic Building.