President Gary A. Olson
Dear Dr. Holohan-Moyer:
Thank you for agreeing to chair the search committee for a key leadership position at Daemen University. I want to thank you and all the search committee members for accepting my charge to identify a list of acceptable finalists to fill the critically important position of Associate Vice President of Employee Engagement at Daemen.
The AVP of Employee Engagement plays a pivotal role in ensuring Daemen’s organizational success by overseeing recruitment, fostering a positive work culture, and implementing effective HR policies to support employee well-being and productivity. They serve as a strategic partner to leadership across the institution, driving initiatives that align with Daemen’s goals while advocating for the development and retention of our faculty and staff.
The AVP of Employee Engagement will: serve as senior human resources administrator and advisor for the University; develop collaborative relationships with all offices and departments of the University; provide strategic leadership and supervision to the Employee Engagement Department staff and functions; develop annual operating and financial plans for human resources in alignment with the University’s overall operational budget and Strategic Plan; and, manage and oversee the priority functions of the Employee Engagement Department.
I am confident that your committee will help to identify a short list of outstanding individuals, any one of whom could become our next AVP of Employee Engagement.
To these ends, I would specifically charge you and the committee to:
- Conduct a search for the most highly qualified individual who will best fit both the key requirements set forth in the published job description profile, with special focus on the unique characteristics of Daemen University;
- Give careful consideration in identifying highly qualified, under-represented minorities and women candidates among those individuals under review for the position;
- Give priority consideration to those candidates with recent experience in similar positions at institutions of higher education, with special emphasis on those with experience at private, non-profit colleges or universities;
- Where appropriate, encourage the committee to proactively contact highly qualified individuals whom members may know and recommend for the position; and
- Develop and maintain a website devoted specifically to the search, with links to important information that will assist in the committee’s recruitment process.
Finally, reflecting the importance of your committee and your role chair, I urge the committee to maintain strict confidentiality regarding all proceedings of the search. Furthermore, as is typical of leadership searches, all communications from the search committee should come from you.
Again, I want to thank you and the other search committee members as you begin the critically important recruitment of the college’s Associate Vice President for Employee Engagement.
Cordially,
Gary A. Olson
President