La Salle University in Philadelphia, PA, recently launched a search profile and advertisement as it looks to identify its 29th president. Brother Michael J. McGinniss, FSC, announced plans in May 2013 to step down after 15 years of service. He will remain in the leadership role until his current term ends June 30, 2014.
In advance of this search, La Salle’s Board of Trustees recently voted unanimously to amend the by-laws to let the Presidential Search Committee consider both De La Salle Christian Brothers as well as lay people for the position. Of the other five Lasallian higher education institutions in the United States, three have lay presidents while two have Brothers in the role. Saint Mary’s College of California recently inaugurated its first lay president in the college’s 150-year history. Dr. James A. Donahue was inaugurated as Saint Mary’s 29th president October 11, 2013.
With the help of a search firm, La Salle plans to generate a candidate pool by the end of the 2013 with the goal of having a new leader in place around July 1, 2014.