IndyPL CEO Search 2022

• The search was initially intended to start in September of 2021 when the previous CEO’s tenure ended. Because we were at the start of the Climate Improvement Process (CIP), the Library Board decided to wait for the results and conclusions from the surveys and staff focus groups prior to formally initiating the search.
• In preparation for the CEO search, an agreement was approved by the Board at the January 24, 2022 regular Board meeting to select Bradbury Miller Associates as a search consultant that specializes in nationwide library executive placements.
• On March 23, the CIP results were shared publicly in a special Board meeting.
• On April 1, the Library Board appointed Nichelle Hayes to replace John Helling as Interim CEO upon his departure.
• On April 28, the first CEO Search Committee meeting took place. This committee included members of the Board’s Diversity, HR & Policy Committee; DEI officer; union president; staff association president; two Library volunteers; and several community members with varied professional backgrounds (detailed below). This group was charged with working with the search consultant to determine as a group which candidates should be included in an initial round of interviews, and further to recommend 3-4 finalist candidates for board consideration after those interviews took place. This recommendation of finalists would be the conclusion of their part of the process.
• On May 16, the CEO position was posted and was “live” for recruitment. The search consultant initiated a national search.
• On July 5, it was determined by the search consultant and search committee chair that the search would be extended due to limited qualified applicants.
• On August 25, the CEO position was reposted with an increased pay range and adjusted experience credentials, in hopes of achieving a broader candidate pool.
• On October 5, the CEO search committee met to review candidate applications and determine who would be asked to interview for the position. They selected seven, and one of the candidates chose to remove themself from the process before the interviews took place.
• On October 24 and 25, the CEO search committee met in an executive session to conduct virtual interviews with six candidates. Upon concluding those interviews, reviewing resumes and questionnaire info from candidates, and deliberating as a group, three candidates were recommended to the Library Board to proceed as finalists.
• Prior to the public presentation and finalist interview dates, the current employer of one of the three candidates was contacted and told that this candidate was considering the IndyPL CEO position, and the candidate chose to remove themself from the process. An investigation is underway to determine who on the search committee breached the confidentiality of that group and shared information.
• Nichelle M. Hayes and Dr. Gabriel Morley met with EC and extended Library leadership (which consisted of IndyPL standing staff committee chairpersons or designees, staff association representative, and union representative) on November 30, prior to giving their public presentations. Each member of EC and extended leadership was asked to provide individual evaluations (anonymously) of each candidate, and these were supplied in their entirety to the full Board for consideration. These evaluations included a scaled response and also a free response section. On December 1 each candidate took turns privately interviewing with the entire Board of Trustees in an executive session. The Board then convened for several hours to deliberate their decision as a group.
• Board members took the weekend to continue to personally review resumes, notes, candidate experience, reference feedback, public/staff survey results, scoring by the search committee, staff leadership feedback, EC feedback, and reflect on their own interactions with the candidates. Board members as a group and individually also received a great deal of feedback via the indypl.org contact form advocating for and against candidates.
• The Board reconvened in an executive session on Monday, December 5, for several more hours to continue their discussion about how to proceed. Despite a lack of consensus, four Board members expressed a position in favor of offering the position to Dr. Gabriel Morley, which is enough for a quorum, and the board concluded the meeting. A public board meeting was scheduled for December 8 to vote on a resolution to appoint Dr. Morley as CEO.
• On December 8, the board approved a resolution to appoint Morley as CEO by a vote of 4-2 with one abstention. This resolution simultaneously concluded Nichelle Hayes’ appointment as interim CEO. In order of succession, this meant that interim Chief Public Services Officer, Gregory Hill, would serve as acting CEO until Dr. Morley would start, which was expected to only be a few days.
• On December 9, Dr. Morley declined the offer. Gregory Hill will remain as acting CEO until the Board appoints another interim or permanent CEO.

When this process began, surveys were available for the Indianapolis community, IndyPL staff, and the IndyPL Board of Trustees to share areas of importance for the CEO search. These priority areas will be used to evaluate candidates, and include the following:

• Communication
• Strategic Planning
• Leadership
• Management
• Budget Management
• Community
• Intellectual Freedom
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Experience
• Emotional Intelligence
• Board Experience

After initially posting the position in May of 2022, the Search Committee wanted a larger pool of qualified candidates to choose from and decided to repost the position. The Board wanted to hear from the Search Firm, Bradbury Miller Associates (BMA), about how the process could be different and what recommendations they had to improve the posting in order to gain more traction. During the Board Meeting on July 22, BMA presented the plan to repost the position with a more competitive salary range and broader qualifications. The position has been re-posted and is now closed, and the expectation is that the new CEO will start by December 2022 or January 2023.

Due to the current market, The Indianapolis Public Library is reviewing all paygrades. The CEO job announcement reflects the new paygrade for 2023.