Dear Cornell Community,

As the college has previously announced, after sixteen years, President Jonathan Brand will step down at the end of the 2026-27 academic year. In order to ensure a smooth leadership transition, the college has formed a Presidential Search Committee and started the work to find our 16th president.

The members of that Search Committee include:

• Leslie Frady ’86, Trustee
• Professor Megan Goldberg, American Politics
• Professor Santhi Hejeebu, Economics and Business
• Frances Kao ’85, Trustee and Chair, Presidential Search Committee
• Professor Genevieve Migely, Philosophy
• Jeff Meeker, Director of Athletics & Head Volleyball Coach
• John McGrane ’73, Trustee
• Jim Swift ’76, Trustee
• Jan Thomas ’80, Trustee and Chair, Board of Trustees
• Kevin Weiss ’76, Trustee

The Search Committee has successfully retained Russell Reynolds and the team of Zach Messitte, the former President of Ripon College, and Anne Coyle, a consultant with more than twenty years of executive search experience in higher education who also has a background in enrollment. As many of you know, Zach Messitte has been on campus and online to hold listening sessions with diverse groups of interested constituents, including faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the City of Mount Vernon, to better understand what the Cornell community is looking for in its next leader. Later this spring, we will also send a survey to all constituents to help inform the presidential search committee about how the greater Cornell community views the key priorities, opportunities, and challenges ahead.

I will continue to send you periodic updates on the presidential search throughout the process. My thanks to my fellow members of the Presidential Search Committee and everyone who is participating in this critical process to select Cornell College’s next president. Soon, you will also find these updates on the Cornell College website.

Many good wishes for a healthy and fruitful summer to our faculty, staff, students, graduating class of 2026, and our alumni—near and far.

If you have questions or suggestions about the search process, please email presidential-search@cornellcollege.edu. We appreciate hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Frances Kao ’85

Chair, Presidential Search Committee

Cornell College Office of Marketing and Communications

600 First Street SW, Mount Vernon, IA 52314, United States

One of the Colleges that Change Lives

Manage your preferences | Opt Out using TrueRemove™
Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.
View this email online.

600 First Street SW | Mount Vernon, IA 52314 US