Dominican University Begins Formal Search For New President

ORANGEBURG, NY — Dominican University New York has officially launched the search for its next president. The University is widely advertising and inviting interested candidates to apply, after establishing a Presidential Search and Screening Committee and hiring a professional search firm.

Sister Mary Eileen O’Brien, O.P., Ph.D. announced her retirement Oct. 2. The Board of Trustees appointed Sister Mary Hughes, O.P., Ed.D. to serve as interim president until a permanent replacement is named.

It's a big transition for the 70-year-old school, where Sister Mary Eileen has been president for 35 years, and where her connections go back to 1977.

One of her most recent achievements came in 2022, when the state Board of Regents approved the change in the college's status to a university. Dominican now offers 16 graduate programs, including doctoral degrees in Physical Therapy and Nursing, and specializes in flexibility for grad students juggling responsibilities. The university built a new turf field and track to replace its dilapidated grass field and dedicated it in her honor in 2023.

The search committee has created a webpage with links to a Presidential Search Profile, a search timeline, and information on how to apply for the job.

“The Presidential Search Profile will guide the search and was drafted with information gathered from Listening Sessions hosted by AGB consultants and a community survey,” said Trustee John F.M. Flynn, who chairs the committee. “As described in the profile, our ideal candidate will model servant leadership, be emotionally intelligent, culturally competent, inspiring, collaborative, and a visionary leader.”

The college community's priorities for its new president:

• Advance the mission and maintain a relationship with the Dominican Sisters
• Achieve long-term and comprehensive financial stability
• Strengthen student enrollment, retention, and success
• Build community and articulate a bold, unifying shared vision of the future
• Stimulate a culture of philanthropy among internal and external constituencies
• Strengthen a commitment to academic excellence and grow academic programs
• Develop a new Strategic Plan as a university
• Strengthen campus culture and unity
• Further diversity and inclusion