Colgate president won’t seek contract renewal, school names interim president

HAMILTON, N.Y. — Colgate University President Jeffrey Herbst has told the school that he has “decided not to seek renewal of his contract” when it concludes June 15.

The school announced Herbst’s decision in a news release posted Wednesday on its website.

Colgate has selected Jill Harsin, history professor, to serve as interim president during its search for Herbst’s successor.

Herbst, the school’s 16th president, has held the office since 2010.

“I decided that this is the right time to conclude my service to Colgate so that new leadership can be in place as the university prepares for the next fundraising campaign and the 2019 bicentennial celebration,” Herbst said in the Colgate news release.

In an email to the Colgate community, Denis Cronin, who chairs the school’s board of trustees, credited Herbst with helping the university complete its $480 million “Passion for the Climb” fundraising campaign.

Harsin, who will become interim president on July 1, has been “extensively involved” in university governance since joining Colgate in 1982.

She has served in several leadership positions, including department chair, social-sciences division director, and interim provost and dean of the faculty, the school said.

“I’ve had the privilege of teaching Colgate students since arriving as an assistant professor in the history department 30 years ago,” Harsin said in the release. “Colgate University is very dear to me — the passion for knowledge among my faculty colleagues and the students we teach is inspiring. I am humbled by the opportunity to serve as interim president and look forward to partnering with our leaders across the campus to build upon the university’s many successes.”

Colgate has already started the process to identify its 17th president, hoping to have the individual in place by July 1, 2016.

Michael Herling, a Colgate alumnus, trustee, and executive-committee member, will serve as chair of the search committee, which the school will form “soon,” according to its news release.