Presidential Search Update

Dear members of the Emerson community,

I am writing on behalf of the Presidential Search Committee to share an update on the search process for Emerson College’s next president. As you know, we have decided to extend the presidential search into the current academic year to ensure that we identify the right person to lead our extraordinary institution. We are fortunate to have the commitment of Dr. Bill Gilligan to continue his excellent service as interim president throughout the search process.

As the search committee moves forward with this important work, we have reconstituted the membership based on our new timeline. The search committee will now include:

Eric Alexander, ’78, Chair, Board of Trustees and Search Committee Chair

Meghan Baer G’23, Communication Sciences and Disorders 

Alixandra Bigley, Assistant General Manager of Emerson Stage, Performing Arts

Kevin Bright, ’76, Board of Trustees

Ellen Calmas, Board of Trustees

Lindsay Debrosse, ’22, Writing, Literature and Publishing

Robert Friend, ’79, Board of Trustees

Christopher Grant, Associate Director, Enrollment Pipeline

Jeffrey Greenhawt, ’68, Board of Trustees

Douglas Holloway, ’76, Board of Trustees

David Howse, Vice President, Office of the Arts/Executive Director, ArtsEmerson

Judy Huret, M ’69, Trustee Emeritus

Al Jaffe ’68, Board of Trustees

Spencer Kimball, Associate Professor, Communication Studies, and Director, Emerson Polling

Michael MacWade, M ’84, Board of Trustees

Ruthanne Madsen, Vice President, Enrollment

Omar Mardini, December ‘21, Performing Arts 

Kimberly McLarin, Professor and Graduate Program Director, Writing, Literature & Publishing

Robert Miller, Board of Trustees

Russell Newman, Associate Professor, Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts & Interdisciplinary Studies

Steven Samuels, Board of Trustees

Anne Shaughnessy, Vice President and Special Assistant to the President

Joshua Wachs, ’87, Board of Advisors

Marillyn Zacharis, Board of Trustees

Please know, our top priority remains finding the right person to lead Emerson and we will not compromise in our search. We will continue to share significant updates throughout the next several months via email and the Emerson website: https://emerson.edu/presidential-search

Sincerely,
Eric Alexander ‘78
Chair, Board of Trustees and the Presidential Search Committee

Note: This message was updated on September 24 to include the graduate student representative.