Linfield president candidates visit campus

Linfield University has narrowed its presidential search from 87 candidates to four finalists who will participate in upcoming forums with the Linfield community.

Linfield organized a 16-member search committee that first met in June to find a replacement for former President Miles Davis, who resigned last year.

In a letter from presidential search co-chairs Kirby Dyess and Marvin Henberg, the school announced a series of open forums for the four finalists beginning this week at the McMinnville and Portland campuses. The forums are not open to members of the public, according to Linfield Media and Public Relations Manager Kelly Williams Brown.

The names of the candidates haven’t been revealed; however, each will have two forums with “trustees, students, faculty, staff, retired employees, and community leaders,” according to the letter.

Attendees will be asked to give feedback to search consultants through an online portal following the events.

The first candidate’ forum will be held Wednesday on the Portland campus and Thursday in McMinnville. Candidate two’s events will be Nov. 11 and 12, followed by candidate three on Nov. 12 and 13 and the final candidate on Nov. 14 and 15.

Dyess and Henberg noted all of the finalists have “impressive credentials” and urged Linfield community members to discuss the benefits of leading the school, as some candidates are also applying for similar positions at other universities.

“It was not easy to pare down to four, and we believe that each of them is eminently qualified,” the chairs said. “It is important to note that several finalists are in other presidential searches. This means that as we get to know a candidate, we also need to be talking about the many rewards of being part of Linfield University.”