College President Announcement

Dear Friends,

Following a carefully constructed, competently implemented search process, lovingly supported by everyone’s prayerful work, we have selected the next College President for Principia. I’m pleased to announce that John Williams will fill the office.

Before we talk about John, let me first thank all those who participated in this process.

The Presidential Search Committee was composed of nine individuals selected from constituent groups, including faculty, staff, alumni, and Trustees. From the moment I entered the process, I was impressed by the thorough and conscientious work that had already been done by the committee in cooperation with our executive search firm, Storbeck Search & Associates. Each time I met with the committee, I found both their research and conclusions to be first-rate, impartial, and a valuable resource.

Thanks, also, to everyone who participated in the candidate presentations and shared insights throughout the survey process. In response to the February launch of the College President search and outreach to the broad community of Principia alumni and friends, more than 80 nominations for the position were received and vetted by the search firm. The position was posted and advertised across a variety of both Christian Science and higher-education media.

Stakeholder input (which included over 300 survey responses) was invaluable and irreplaceable in helping identify the best candidate for the role at this point in time. In true Principia form, I found that many of you reached out to communicate that, while sharing personal views through the surveys, you also were embracing the opportunity to let go of human reasoning and opinion to prayerfully, impartially support the process. Thank you, thank you for that assurance.

Perhaps most important of all, I wish to thank our other two finalists Carol Burbee and David Gutelius. Neither of them was widely known to our community before their candidacies, but no longer will they be inconspicuous to us. Although quite different from each other in their approaches and presentations, their common gift to Principia was the inspiring and exciting ideas they put forward for us all to consider and build on. Their thoroughness of effort, grace under considerable scrutiny, and patience with the process are admirable, and I know we all thank them for their important contributions to the process. We are so grateful to have such quality thinkers as respected members of the Principia family.    

Now, back to John Williams. Since being appointed Interim College President eight months ago, John has consistently demonstrated principled, calm, compassionate, courageous, and transparent leadership. His deep history with the College, clear understanding of the present challenges confronting us, excitement over the opportunities that lie ahead, and absolute commitment to the mission of Principia make him the right choice for this moment.

Throughout his 37 years at the College, Professor Williams has earned wide respect and credibility among his colleagues and has served several terms as president of the Faculty Senate. A 1976 graduate of Principia College with a juris doctor degree from The George Washington University, he was the inaugural recipient of the Horace Edwin Harper Jr. and Evelyn Wright Harper Award for Teaching Excellence in 2013. He has directed more than a dozen Principia abroads to mainland East Asia and has served as a popular lecturer for the Principia Lifelong Learning and Summer Session programs. I encourage you to review Professor Williams’s CV to learn more about his career and impressive list of credentials.

By all accounts, John is a fair-minded straight shooter whose moral courage, integrity, and transparent communication style will serve him well in leading Principia College. John and his wife, Missy (Ford, C’76), love interacting with the community and will continue to make their home in Jerseyville while John is College President. Through numerous conversations with him, I know that John brings a pure motive to the role and that he is excited about all that he has learned about himself and Principia during his tenure as Interim College President. He also sees many exciting opportunities for Principia to carry forward our core mission and history into a confident and secure future.

The Board of Trustees and I look forward to working with John and supporting him as he focuses his efforts on a number of important initiatives, which include (but are not limited to):

• Supporting new pathways for student enrollment growth
• Promoting fresh perspectives on the continuing importance and relevance of Mary Kimball Morgan’s vision of a Principia education dedicated to serving the Cause of Christian Science
• Strengthening all the best aspects of Principia’s culture
• Implementing a strategic approach to program assessment and improvement
• Advancing new methods for learning in a changing world
• Exploring new ideas to enhance the effectiveness of our work and value of our offerings

During the past two months, John and I have established an open, collaborative, and supportive working relationship. I’m confident that he will bring these same qualities to all of his working relationships at the College and interactions with the St. Louis campus. His energy and enthusiasm to lead Principia College into exciting new opportunities and his ability to draw on his long history at Principia will enable us to move forward on many important initiatives with alacrity and efficiency.

Finally, I don’t have to tell you that we are—like much of the rest of the world—living, working, and praying our way through extraordinary times at Principia. Some may, at times, even be tempted to feel discouraged, fatigued, or fearful about our future. But we know that we must never give in to these suggestions. We also know that the Christ-idea in education, being a spiritual idea, is always safe, always relevant, always able to withstand every challenge and prosper.

Once again, I would like to thank everyone who has supported this process. Now it is time to trust that process, rally behind our new College President, and get down to the work that lies before us and Principia—serving “the Cause of Christian Science through appropriate channels” (Principia Policy 1).    

Sincerely,

Dennis Marunde
Interim Chief Executive