More About the Search Process

Melissa L. Gilliam’s appointment as the next president of Boston University concludes a rigorous and extensive yearlong search that yielded more than 380 potential candidates from around the world. The process included interviewing more than 300 people with ties to Boston University—students, faculty, staff, alumni, and donors—who shared the characteristics and qualifications they hoped to see in their next president. Their input helped shape a presidential profile that guided the Presidential Search Committee’s work. The committee was tasked with whittling the list down and presenting viable candidates to the Board of Trustees for consideration. With help from a renowned executive search firm, Storbeck Search, the search committee—comprised of faculty, staff, and trustees—ultimately put forth a recommendation. The trustees voted unanimously to confirm Melissa L. Gilliam’s appointment.

Learn more on BU Today

Presidential Search Committee Membership

Trustee Members

  • Antoinette R. Leatherberry (ENG’85), Chair, Presidential Search Committee, Former Principal, Deloitte
  • Maureen A. Alphonse-Charles (CAS’85), Managing Director, Koya Leadership Partners
  • Nathaniel Dalton (LAW’91), Founder, Daybreak Partners
  • Maurice R. Ferré (CGS’81, CAMED’92, SPH’92), Chair and CEO, Insightec
  • Joseph Loscalzo, Hersey Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Chair, Department of Medicine and Physician-in-Chief, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
  • Malek Sukkar (ENG’92), Chief Executive Officer, Averda
  • Nina Tassler (CFA’79, Hon.’16), Former Chair, CBS Entertainment, Founder and Partner, PatMa Productions
  • Elizabeth C. Thors, Managing Director, Wellington Management Company LLP
  • Peter L. Wexler (Questrom’93), President, Forest Avenue Technology Group

Deans and Faculty Members

  • Christopher Chen, William F. Warren Distinguished Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Director of the Biological Design Center (ENG)
  • Kevin P. Gallagher, Professor of Global Development Policy; Director of the Global Development Policy Center (Pardee)
  • Kimberly A.S. Howard, Chair of the Faculty Council, Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology & Applied Human Development (Wheelock)
  • Hee-Young Park, Professor and Chair of Medical Sciences & Education, Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs, Professor of Dermatology (Chobanian & Avedisian SOM)
  • Stan Sclaroff, Dean of Arts & Sciences (CAS/GRS)
  • Harvey Young, Dean, College of Fine Arts (CFA)

Staff Member

  • Jennifer Grodsky, Vice President for Federal Relations
Boston University’s Trustees partnered with Storbeck Search, a nationally recognized executive search firm that is part of Diversified Search Group, to conduct the search. Storbeck Search specializes in leadership hiring for colleges and universities. The search team was led by Global Education Practice Lead and Managing Director Shelly Weiss Storbeck and Managing Director R. Thomas Fitch, PhD.