Following a six-month national search, Phillips Academy faculty and administration announced that Sean Logan, former Associate Director of Admission at Williams College, will be the new Director of College Counseling. Barbara Chase, Head of School, and John Rogers, Dean of Studies, led the search team and received input from a faculty search advisory committee, the College Counseling Office, members of the senior administrative team and Robin Mamlet, an external search consultant from the Witt/Kieffer Executive Search Firm. Rogers said that Logan’s dedication and variety of experience, in both college admissions and college counseling, made him stand out as a candidate. Rogers said, “Logan has got both of those angles covered, and as a result, he has a really good understanding of not only the college landscape but also of the journey that students take in trying to figure out what is it they want in a college. The educational part of the college counseling job is something he understands very well.” “Logan exudes a kind of positive leadership. He is deeply committed to serving students from all backgrounds. He believes fervently in Andover’s missions related to diversity and access. He has shown in his past work an ability to be both a very strong leader and a very strong team member,” he continued. According to a press release from the Office of Communications, Logan has “more than 20 years experience in college counseling and admission, at both the independent school and college level.” He spent 11 years working in admissions for Williams and has also previously worked in admissions for Occidental College, Harvard University and Stanford University. Logan served as the Director of College Counseling for The Bishop School, located in California, for six years. Logan has also served two terms on the Board of Directors of “A Better Chance” (ABC) and helped initiate a college counseling program for low-income students in San Francisco. Logan will officially begin serving as Director of College Counseling on July 1 and will be in contact with the College Counseling Office until then to facilitate his transition. Though Uppers have already started their college counseling process, Logan will be a counselor his first year, most likely assisting new seniors and postgraduates. “Logan will balance learning about the [CCO] and making decisions about how he wants to lead the office with his counseling duty,” said Rogers Mamlet helped in the initial search process by preparing an advertisement and job description, providing advice on where to advertise and suggesting how to best “get the word out.” Mamlet also helped the school actively seek candidates for the position, identify qualified potential candidates throughout the country and contact them to see if any were interested. Rogers said, “The search process consists of articulating the need that the academy has, and of course, part of that is retrospective in that you must look at what the job has been. Part of that is also forward-looking in that you must look at what you’re going to need ten years from now and try your best to capture that.” “Writing the job description also gives the candidates enough of a description of what the school is about, so that they know what they’re applying for. It’s not just describing the job. It’s also describing the institution and our priorities and goals,” he continued. According to Rogers, the school included applicants beyond Andover in the search because the Director of College Counseling is “one of the roles in the school that always is advertised nationally.” He mentioned the Dean of Admissions position as another example of a nationally advertised role. “The search team primarily looked for candidates with an ability to lead a team of college counselors, a knowledge of what the college process entails, an ability to work well with students, parents, faculty and trustees and an ability to be a leader in the national conversation on the college selection process,” said Rogers. Elizabeth Korn, Associate Dean of Studies and a member of the faculty search advisory committee, wrote in an email, “Phillips Academy was lucky to attract applicants with excellent credentials from across the country. Each of the finalists was very well qualified.” Applicants were required to submit letters of interest explaining why they wanted to serve as Director of College Counseling at Andover. The faculty search advisory committee was composed of Korn, Kevin Cardozo, Chair of the Chemistry Department, Deborah Chase, Instructor in English, Jacques Hugon, Instructor in Math and Computer Science, Linda Griffith, Dean of the Community and Multicultural Development Office, Peter Neissa, Head of the Division of World Languages and Shirley Veenema, Chair of the Art Department. Formed in the fall, the committee read over applicants’ curricula vitae, drafted a list of interview questions, conducted panel interviews with potential candidates and expressed their opinions in writing about the strengths and weaknesses of each applicant. “In the selection of [search advisory] committee members, the administration approached faculty members who would be interested and helpful in that role while trying to represent as many departments of the school,” said Rogers. Rogers added that the search team identified about 30 qualified applicants and then narrowed their list down to a preliminary group of top candidates. After interviewing members of the preliminary group, the search team identified three final candidates, who were invited to campus for full-day interviews with the advisory committee, counseling staff and senior administration. Though the process was extensive, the search went smoothly and on schedule, according to Rogers. The search began in September and had been expected to conclude in the middle of winter term.
