MTU searching for new president

HOUGHTON — The Michigan Technological University Board of Trustees has selected the firm of Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates to assist in the search for the University’s next president.

At a special meeting Friday afternoon (June 30), the board selected the firm, headquartered in Media, Pennsylvania and Whittier, California, on a unanimous vote. The special video-conference meeting was held at two locations; the Michigan Tech campus and the Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

In April, University President Glenn D. Mroz announced his intention to return to the classroom starting no sooner than June 30, 2018. Mroz became Michigan Tech’s ninth president in 2004, after serving as dean of the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science. Mroz was recently recognized for 40 years of service to the University.

On June 2, the Board of Trustees appointed a 14-member committee to review candidates for University president. Trustee Bill Johnson was selected to chair the committee with Trustee Brenda Ryan as co-chair. Trustees Julie Freem and Bob Jacquart also sit on the committee along with 10 members chosen from Michigan Tech faculty, staff, administration, students, alumni and the community.

The search committee is expected to present three or four finalists for the presidency to the Board by February with a goal of selecting a new president by July 2018.

In selecting Storbeck/Pimental & Associates, Board of Trustees Chair Terry Woychowski said “The Presidential Search Committee did an excellent job in creating and utilizing a process to determine which of these fine search firms would best suit the needs of Michigan Tech. Several criteria were used to select the best fit such as, the number of similar searches conducted in the past five years and how many were in the State of Michigan, how the firm would involve the university community in the search process, how an effective profile of the presidency would be created and the estimated cost of the search. We look forward to working closely with Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates as we advance the important work of selecting the next President of Michigan Tech.”

Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates is an executive search firm specializing in higher education executive recruitment for colleges and universities. The firm employs more than 50 staff members in two main offices in the Los Angeles and Philadelphia areas with affiliated offices in Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Vermont and Virginia.