Presidential Search Update: Advisory Group Members, Submitting Candidate Interview Questions

This message was sent to the WPI community.

In June I communicated a high level of interest in the search for the 17th president of WPI. I am pleased to report that the search remains on track. The deadline for applications has closed and we have a very strong and diverse candidate pool. The search committee is now focused on narrowing the field and preparing for candidate interviews. As we enter the next phase of the search, I am writing to introduce community members who will serve on advisory groups and to provide information on submitting candidate questions for the search committee’s consideration.



Advisory Group Members Appointed

As you may recall, our operating model for the search calls for the creation of advisory groups as a means to broaden direct community involvement. These groups will interview finalist candidates and provide the search committee with additional perspectives to help inform their work of formulating recommendations to the Board of Trustees. The search committee selected advisory group members from peer nominations with an eye to bringing additional and complementary diversity of experience and perspective to the search. As you’ll see they tapped individuals who are widely respected and, in many cases, individuals who have been elected by peers to represent them in another capacity.



Michael Abrams ’77

Retired Seismic Instrumentation and DSP Consultant



Veda Booth ’18

Marketing Operations Associate, Goldman Sachs



Drew Brodeur

Teaching Professor, Chemistry & Biochemistry



Crystal H. Brown 

Assistant Professor, Social Sciences & Policy Studies



Kathy Chen

Executive Director, STEM Education Center



Jeanine Dudle

Associate Professor, Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering 



Maya Ellis ’23

Undergraduate Student



Michael Elmes

Professor, School of Business



Michael S. Horan

Executive Vice President and CFO 



Jianyu Liang

Professor, Mechanical & Materials Engineering 



John Marczewski ’85, Parent ’23

Executive Consultant, EN Engineering 



John McNeill

Bernard M. Gordon Dean of Engineering, Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering 



Matt Oney ’90

Head Coach, Men’s Wrestling



Toshak Patel ’23

Undergraduate Student 



Emily Perlow

Associate Dean of Students



Suzette Santiago, Parent ’24

WPI Event Planner



David Spanagel

Associate Professor, Humanities & Arts



Harin Vashi ’23

Graduate Student 



Learn more about the members here. 



Submit Interview Questions for Consideration 

Interviews with select candidates will take place in the weeks ahead. These sessions will focus on candidate qualifications and experience, as well as their thoughts regarding the opportunities and challenges facing WPI, as outlined on pages 45 and 48 of the Presidential Position Specification. Community members who are interested in suggesting questions for these interviews can do so by sending an email to presidentialsearch@wpi.edu. Please submit your questions by August 11. 



In closing, I want to express my thanks to the search committee for their tremendous work, to the newly appointed members of advisory groups for their willingness to serve, and to the countless WPI community members who continue to contribute to the search for WPI’s next president. 



Sincerely, 



David LaPré ’74

WPI Trustee and Chair, Presidential Search Committee