SBU engages search firm in presidential hiring process

Eric Turner exited as SBU's leader last year.

Brad Johnson currently is serving as SBU's interim president.

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Southwest Baptist University entered a contract with executive search firm CarterBaldwin as the school seeks its 26th president.

The Atlanta-based firm is working with the SBU presidential search committee to find a permanent successor to Eric Turner, who resigned from the university last year, according to a news release. The financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

“CarterBaldwin is ranked among the top 40 executive search firms in the United States and has been recognized on multiple occasions as one of the country’s best recruiting firms,” said the Rev. David Brown, chair of the SBU committee, in the release. “They specialize in academic and educational searches and are also evangelical and understand the dynamics of what we will be looking for in our next president.”

The release did not detail a timeline for the process, and an SBU spokesperson could not be reached immediately for comment by this morning.

CarterBaldwin's client portfolio has included Duke and Pepperdine universities, as well as Valley Christian Schools and Wheaton College, according to its website. An example of its work came last year, when CarterBaldwin assisted Portland, Oregon, Christian school Warner Pacific University in hiring its new president.

Last month, SBU appointed Brad Johnson as interim president. He previously was acting president, a shorter-term appointment, according to school officials.

Turner exited SBU in November at the end of the semester. SBU officials were mostly mum on his exit, and those familiar with the situation cited tension between the university and the Missouri Baptist Convention, according to past reporting.

“As the university and Missouri Baptist Convention rearticulate their long-standing relationship, I think it is vital for the two entities to have a fresh start with a new leader at the helm,” Turner said at the time.