Why One Christian College Forgoes a Search Firm

At Bethel College, in Mishawaka, Ind., using a search firm is the exception for hiring senior leaders. Instead, those involved in the search rely on their faith for assistance in choosing the right person, said Gregg Chenoweth, president of the small institution affiliated with the Missionary Church, an evangelical Christian denomination.

“We begin with the assumption that we can use our ordinary professional processes and prayer,” said Mr. Chenoweth. “If that doesn’t work, we might use a firm,” he said. “For us, we are praying to a living God, who responds to our prayer.”

Even with divine assistance, which includes regular readings from the Bible at meetings, the search process also employs standard best practices, such as forming a search committee, meeting with the faculty or staff the new employee would supervise, and articulating the desired professional and personal characteristics. Potential hires are vetted through background and reference checks, interviews, and even a personality assessment, depending on the position, Mr. Chenoweth said.

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One downside to not using a search firm is that it requires more work from the search committee, Mr. Chenoweth said. “However, that leads us to create a larger and more engaged search committee,” he added.

And the potential pool of candidates is generally smaller, he said, “but the ones we attract through our methods are higher quality.”

The emphasis is on hiring people who will be leaders, not just “supervisors,” he said. “The whole project is people. It’s very important to have the right faculty, staff, and administrators.”

“We’re very relaxed about the transition of senior leaders, because we see this works for us,” said Mr. Chenoweth. “This is not to say that the use of a search firm is faithless, but that’s not where we begin.”

Correction (9/29/2017, 12:25 p.m.): This article originally misspelled the name of the city where Bethel College is located. It is Mishawaka, not Mishiwaka. The text has been corrected.

Eric Kelderman writes about money and accountability in higher education, including such areas as state policy, accreditation, and legal affairs. You can find him on Twitter @etkeld, or email him at eric.kelderman@chronicle.com.