Presidential Search

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Dear members of the Hartwick College community,

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am proud to announce that the board has adopted the recommendation of the Presidential Search Committee and elected Darren Reisberg to serve as the 11th President of Hartwick College. He will take office on August 1, 2022.

President-elect Reisberg currently serves as executive vice president and chief strategy officer at the Joyce Foundation, a private foundation based in Chicago that invests in policies to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region.

Before joining the foundation, he was the vice president for strategic initiatives and deputy provost at the University of Chicago, where he managed the Office of the Provost’s operations, administered the faculty governance system, and drove strategic planning and fundraising efforts. He also led the coordination of the university’s K-12 education initiatives, including the Urban Education Institute, and oversaw various units, such as the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation and the Smart Museum of Art.

In other roles at the University of Chicago, President-elect Reisberg served as the vice president and secretary of the university, a position in which he was the primary administrative liaison to the university’s board of trustees. In this role, he developed and supported governance practices for the University of Chicago Medical Center. He also was the first executive director of the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, which is designed to foster in undergraduate students a passion for public service, meaningful dialogue and active engagement in the democratic process.

The president-elect has served as the governor-appointed chair of the Illinois State Board of Education since February 2019 and recently concluded nine years of service on the board of directors of the Center on Halsted, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community center in Chicago. He received a B.A. in political science from Duke University and a J.D. degree from Yale Law School.

The Board of Trustees enthusiastically agrees that President-elect Reisberg is the best choice to lead Hartwick at this critical point in the College’s 225-year history. Building upon the outstanding foundation that President Drugovich has established during her 14-year tenure, we believe the College’s innovative FlightPath approach to education provides a compelling and distinctive vision for its future. As the next president of Hartwick, Darren Reisberg will be charged with continuing our trajectory toward providing an exceptional student experience while successfully navigating the increasing complexity of leading a nationally ranked college.

The Board thanks the Presidential Search Committee, chaired by Kathleen Fallon ’88, vice-chair of the Hartwick College Board of Trustees, and the faculty, administrators, staff, students and alumni who contributed their support and perspectives throughout this process. I would also like to thank President Drugovich, who has graciously agreed to remain with us through July as President-elect Reisberg transitions into his new role.

President-elect Reisberg will be on campus on May 6 for our planned spring celebration – the Big Blue Bash – and I encourage you to join me in welcoming him to the Hartwick community during this event.

Learn more about our president-elect.

Please join me in congratulating President-elect Reisberg and in wishing him all the best as we begin the next chapter in Hartwick College’s remarkable history.

Sincerely,

David H Long ’83 H’14

Chair, Hartwick College Board of Trustees

Monday, October 4, 2021

The Hartwick College Board of Trustees is proud of the remarkable progress that the College has made under the inspiring leadership of President Margaret L. Drugovich. Now that she has announced her intention to retire in the summer of 2022, we turn our attention to the search for Hartwick’s 11th president. We are confident that we will attract a leader who is both eager and well prepared to guide this creative and dedicated community into the next chapter in Hartwick’s history.

​A Presidential Search Committee has now been formed. The committee will work closely with our wider community and our chosen higher education search firm, Academic Search, to identify and prioritize the qualities that we seek in our next president. The committee will also screen applicants and ultimately recommend finalists for this important role.

We are grateful to these dedicated individuals from across our community for making the commitment to participate in this search:

Kathleen Fallon ’88, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, Chair of the Search Committee

Elizabeth Bloom, Department Chair and Professor of Education; faculty member at large

Michelle Brown ’87, President of the Hartwick College Alumni Board

​Lisa Corbett ’02, Executive Assistant to the President/Assistant Secretary to the Board; Chair of Staff Council​

Edward Droesch ’82, Current member, Board of Trustees

Jeff Joyner, SVP and Chief Operating Officer of the Bassett Healthcare Network

Francis Landrey P’06, Former Trustee, Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Trustees

Janet Mitchell ’71, Current member, Board of Trustees

Awino Pauller Musyoka ’23, President of the Student Government Association

Karl Seeley, Professor of Economics; Chair of Faculty Council

Georgette Smith ’85 P’18, Current Member, Board of Trustees

The Search Committee will now begin its work. They will be asking for your input into the search, and we hope that you will provide us the advantage of your insights. We hope to identify the next president in the spring.

Thank you in advance for all that you will contribute to this important search process. And thank you for all that you do, every day, to care for Hartwick and our students.

Sincerely,

David H Long ’83 H’14

Chair, Hartwick College Board of Trustees

Kathleen Fallon ‘88

Vice Chair, Hartwick College Board of Trustees

Chair, Presidential Search Committee