FaithSearch Partners’ Higher Education practice focuses on securing differential Christian leadership for institutions of higher learning.
We understand the unique challenges faced by academic institutions. Our team is comprised of experienced professionals that have dedicated their careers to education through their own advanced degrees, as professors, or as administrators.
We also understand the difficulties that come with academic leadership and the traits required for success – both intellectual and spiritual.
We are uniquely positioned to lead your higher education executive search because like you, we’ve dedicated our lives to academia. Our Higher Education practice lead, Andy Westmoreland, has 40+ years of experience in higher education including two college presidencies. His team is built on the experience of academics like Amy King who has more than 20 years of experience in the field.
We know higher education. We excel at executive search. And we live our faith.
We understand the differences between a President, Provost, and Department Chair because we’ve been in your position. We recognize that in addition to the professional experience and skills required of a President, an executive in education must also possess tact, diplomacy, an understanding of the financial needs and resources of educational entities, teaching ability, a commitment to putting students first, a dedication to the school’s mission of ministry and much more.
Our team can identify the elite leaders best suited for your needs because we’ve been in your shoes. We know what works and what doesn’t. From small colleges to large universities, FaithSearch serves the complete spectrum of faith-based educational organizations. Some of our past higher education clients are featured here:
Higher education searches can present unique challenges. Whether it’s working with a search committee made up of college board members or members of the faculty/staff, the approach and timeframes for a successful search are often different than searches for other types of organizations.
Not only do all the members of our team who work on search engagements have advanced degrees, but many of them have also spent time teaching in a classroom setting or in a school administration position.
Check out our latest active searches:
We’ve been a leader in the faith-based executive search space for the last 15 years and that is directly attributable to our people and our faith. We don’t believe in hiring search consultants and teaching them your industry. We believe in hiring experienced professionals from your industry and teaching them executive search.
Our Higher Education team has more than 60 years of combined experience in the field of higher education. They’ve served in college president roles, vice-chancellor of human resources roles, as board chairs and members for academic associations, and have overseen hundreds of executive searches.
Our Higher Education team has deep experience identifying elite leaders best suited for institutions of higher learning.
He served as president of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama from 2006 until 2021 and as president of Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas from 1998 until 2006. In each of his presidencies he helped the institutions to be faithful to their missions, be of greater service to their students and meet the needs of their communities and the world. Westmoreland still finds time to write and speak, teach courses and serve on charity boards.
Prior to his stint as Samford’s president, Westmoreland was president of Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas from 1998-2006 and he had served on Ouachita Baptist’s administrative staff in various capacities during the previous 19 years.
He is the past chair of the Board of Trustees for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, which oversees accreditation for more than 800 colleges and universities from Virginia to Texas. He also served as president of the American Association of Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities. Currently, he serves as the Executive Director of Samford’s Frances Marlin Mann Center for Ethics and Leadership.
Westmoreland holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in political science and a doctorate in higher education administration. A native of Arkansas, he is married to Dr. Jeanna Westmoreland and their daughter, Riley, is a graduate of Samford and Vanderbilt universities.
Her career in human resources began in 1998 and through the years she has progressed by articulating a vision for human resources that translates strategic priorities into operational imperatives and advances the ongoing evolution of human resources to an integrated and strategic model.
Over the last two decades, she has served on seven separate boards of trustees and committees while serving as the Vice Chancellor of Human Resources at the University of Denver and building a successful strategic HR consulting/coaching practice. She also launched the formal HR function at Colorado Christian University earlier in her career.
More recently she also served as the Chief People Officer for Centura Health, the largest healthcare system in Colorado with more than 14,000 employees.
King holds a master’s degree of professional studies in leadership and organizations from the University of Denver and a bachelor’s degree of science in organizational management from Colorado Christian University.
Ivan has a Master’s in Health Services Administration from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor’s in Corporate Communication from Southwestern Adventist University (SWAU). He is married to Sonja Bartolome, MD, a faculty physician, specializing in Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
Ivan has served as president of the Kansas City, Kansas Rotary Club and on the board for the Wyandotte County, Kansas Red Cross. He also served as chair of the marketing committee for the United Way of Wyandotte County’s (Kansas City, KS) campaign committee. In addition, he has served as head elder at the New Haven Seventh-day Adventist Church, on the board of Saint Paul’s Episcopal Day School in Kansas City, Missouri, on the board of a Christian academy in Shawnee, KS, as President of the Alumni Association at SWAU and as President of the Crowley (TX) Area Chamber of Commerce.
During the past two and a half decades, Bryan has served in organizations as a CEO, CIO, COO, and CTO and was able to help lead and develop new divisions at Arthur Andersen, ADS Consulting, Grant Thornton, Protiviti, KMBS, the United Methodist Church, and Methodist Healthcare/Memphis. He currently serves as SVP in FaithSearch’s Mission Enterprise Division as well as in the rest of the firm. He also is currently CEO for Truitt Consulting Group, an executive advisory and marketing firm with multiple brands.
Bryan is primarily known for trademark achievement in leadership and operational analysis, anticipating change, and applying creative solutions through leadership. Bryan holds an M.B.A. from Mississippi State University and a Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary. He serves on the four nonprofit Board of Directors including the Technology Association of Georgia’s Health Society, Honduras Outreach Incorporated (HOI), Grace Village and Kennesaw State University’s Masters of Health Management and Informatics Program.
Previously, Ed directed marketing and public relations at faith-based hospitals in Illinois and Texas. In addition, he managed the public relations function at the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the premier healthcare quality review agency in the U.S.
Ed holds an MBA from Dallas Baptist University and a BS, Communications degree from Southwestern Adventist University, where he is a member of the institution’s board of trustees. He also serves as Board Chair of the Ardmore Institute of Health, a $70 million national faith-based foundation promoting wellness and healthy living. For years, Ed has been a board member of The Journey, a Texas-based Christian radio station, and has recently joined the board of Faith For Today, the oldest religious television broadcast in the world.
The collegiate athletics landscape is changing by the day and leadership is more important now than ever before. Colleges and their athletic departments, conferences, teams, and players are extremely influential at all levels of collegiate sports. And many depend on the business of sports to survive.
With so much focus on sports, it’s more important than ever that the right leaders – both for the organization and the candidate – are placed in front offices and athletic departments.
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