President

Elizabethtown College, founded in 1899 by members of the Church of the Brethren, is a private, residential college located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 90 minutes from Philadelphia and Baltimore and less than three hours from New York City and Washington, D.C. The College’s 204-acre campus is home to approximately 2,102 undergraduate students and 415 graduate students enrolled across six academic schools offering more than 150 majors, minors and concentrations, 30 master’s and graduate certificate programs and two doctoral programs. With an average class size of 19 and a 16:1 student-to-faculty ratio, Etown combines a strong liberal arts foundation with strengths in engineering, business, the health sciences and public service, and it fields 25 NCAA Division III varsity athletic teams.

The College enters this leadership transition from a position of strength, including:

• Incoming classes have grown in four of the last five years and exceeded projected goals in each of the past five;
• Over $36 million of the $40 million Build Brighter Futures scholarship campaign has been raised to date; and
• Strategic Plan 2030, a five-year roadmap built around the mantra “Educating for Impact,” launches this fall.

The next President of Etown will be an exceptional communicator and a disciplined listener — visible, accessible, warm and unpretentious — a servant leader prepared to be an engaged and visible participant in the civic and economic life of Elizabethtown and Lancaster County. The ideal candidate will articulate a genuine alignment with the College’s core values and the ethos of Educate for Service as a lived institutional practice rather than a statement of aspiration; bring the financial acumen necessary to lead a tuition-dependent private institution; demonstrate a record of success with external resource development; bring an advanced degree and a record of higher education leadership that establishes immediate credibility with faculty and staff; and the commitment to work in genuine partnership with an engaged governing board.

AGB Search is partnering with the Elizabethtown College Board of Trustees and campus community in this search. The full Leadership Profile can be found on the AGB Search website or at www.etown.edu/presidential-search/. Additional information about Elizabethtown College can be found at www.etown.edu.

To ensure full consideration, applications should be received by Thursday, November 12, 2026, and must include:

• A letter of interest addressing the strategic opportunities and qualifications identified in the profile.
• A current curriculum vitae.
• A list of five professional references with email addresses and telephone numbers, including their relationship to the candidate. References will not be contacted without prior authorization from the candidate.

Elizabethtown College is being assisted by AGB Search. Application materials should be submitted through the AGB Search portal system here: Elizabethtown Presidential Search Portal (http://bit.ly/3SV1Cj5).

Please direct nominations and expressions of interest or any questions regarding the application process to Jennifer Ferrera at EtownPresident@agbsearch.com or:
 

Melissa K. Trotta, Ed.D.
Associate Managing Principal
melissa.trotta@agbsearch.com
(202) 380-8927

Matthew J. Kilcoyne
Principal
matt.kilcoyne@agbsearch.com
(202) 253-9846
 

Elizabethtown College is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.

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