Dear Campus Community,
In follow up to my December 10, 2025 message regarding the pause of the Vice President for Institutional Equity and Diversity search process, I am writing today to share an important update on the status of that search.
Since that message was sent and after much thought and reflection over the past month, on January 23, 2026, I announced my decision to retire as Puget Sound’s 14th President on July 1, 2027. I feel an immense sense of pride in all that we have accomplished together and clearly see a bright and promising future ahead of us.
As you can imagine, a search for a Vice President can be successful only when the candidates are assured of the direction and vision of their president. Equally important, a university president should be given the opportunity to make the final decision on their Cabinet-level positions. With consideration of the presidential transition process that will take place over the next 18 months, I have decided it is necessary to suspend the search for our next Vice President for Institutional Equity and Diversity, and provide Puget Sound’s 15th president the opportunity to decide when and how to reinstitute the search following their arrival.
I want to assure you that throughout this leadership transition I remain committed to advancing the work of the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity and continuing to build on the strong foundation built under Dr. Hernandez Jarvis’s leadership over the last five years, including the Belonging: Choosing Equity and Engaging Inclusive Excellence strategic plan. The vital work that is underway to advance our collective goal of creating an inclusive campus that fosters a sense of belonging for all members of our community simply must continue and it will.
To assure that this work continues with the expertise and demonstrated senior-level institutional leadership it requires, I plan to appoint an Interim Vice President for Institutional Equity and Diversity who will serve a term of up to two years. We will work with a consultancy to identify a short list of 3-4 candidates for consideration. Campus members will have an opportunity to meet the candidates and provide feedback to me prior to my appointment of the Interim Vice President.
I will continue to provide updates on this process as we move forward. For now, please know I remain grateful for everyone’s contributions to making our campus the special place that it is and our shared commitment to being inclusive and welcoming to our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and members of our broader community.
In partnership,
Isiaah Crawford, Ph.D. | President