Reinhardt University Launches Search For New President

Reinhardt University has taken three steps in its quest to hire its 20th president.

The postsecondary education institution based in Waleska has formed a search committee, brought on an experienced search firm and consultant and mapped out a timeline to replace President Dr. J. Thomas Isherwood, who in March announced plans to retire in 2015.

Canton attorney Billy Hasty, Jr. will chair the search committee. As the chair of Reinhardt’s Board of Trustees and an alumnus, Hasty is very familiar with the institution’s opportunities and challenges, the university said in a press release.

“Reinhardt has made extraordinary progress during Dr. Isherwood’s tenure,” Hasty said. “He always placed Reinhardt first. As a visionary leader, he had the ability to accomplish the university’s goals and his own goals. It has been a pleasure working with him. I’m confident that his hard work, along with the University’s many successes, will help us find a skilled and personable leader who will continue the University’s positive momentum.”

The 19-person search committee contains representatives from varied campus constituencies and the community, including Hasty, trustees Marshall Day, Sr., Sharon Gay, James Hasson, Jr., Cherokee County Superior Court Judge Ellen McElyea, the Rev. Dr. James Mooneyhan, Ken White and Kathy Young; faculty members Dr. Jonathan Good, Dr. Katherine E. Hyatt and Dr. Dennis K. McIntire; staff members Julie C. Fleming, Bill C. Popp and Virginia R. Tomlinson; student government president Alexander Bryant; Alumni Board of Governors president Ryan Satterfield; community resident and former Cherokee County School Board Superintendent Marguerite Cline; president emeritus Dr. Floyd A. Falany; and committee secretary Kelly M. Morris.

In the committee’s first meeting in late August, AGB Search consultant Dr. Jim Davis was selected to support the search. Davis has worked with AGB Search for three years and has worked with more than 15 presidential searches at private colleges in the southeast.

The committee also agreed on a tentative schedule: recruiting, screening and interviewing will take place during the fall and early winter and the new president will be selected in early February 2015.

To shape the presidential profile, the search committee will solicit input from students, faculty, staff, alumni and the community. Davis will visit Reinhardt this month to gather input from the University’s internal constituencies.

Search progress, including summaries of committee meetings, will be posted to the University’s website.

For more information, visit the search website or contact Billy Hasty via KM@reinhardt.edu.

(Photo: Dr. J. Thomas Isherwood in March announced plans to retire as president of Reinhardt University in 2015. Credit: Reinhardt University)