September 2020
Member query:
Should the Board Chair should be ex-officio on the Search Committee (committee doing a search for a new head of school)? Or is it ok for the Board Chair to be a full voting member of the Search Committee?
Reply from Cathy Trower:
My view is that the Board Chair should be a full voting member of the Search Committee. Although I do not have empirical evidence to say whether my opinion is valid or not, I think it’s fairly standard practice for the Board Chair to be on the Search Committee and, oftentimes, chair it. A good practice is to also have the incoming Board Chair (if an heir apparent is known) participate on the Search Committee as well. Why involve board leaders this way? Because the current chair and their successor will be working closely with the person you hire as Head of School. That partnership is pivotal to the school’s success, so it should be established up front that board leaders are part of the search process and, therefore, integral in the selection of the next head.