NORTH ADAMS — Senior leadership experience, a deep commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, exceptional communication skills and high emotional intelligence are among the qualities Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is seeking in a new president.

That's according to a campus profile and job listing issued by the college as it seeks a successor to James Birge. They were published earlier this week.

MCLA and Berkshire Community College, the county’s two state colleges, are both seeking presidents after their incumbents announced retirements. BCC, which is seeking a successor to Ellen Kennedy, had already posted its profile and job listing; MCLA was waiting for the state Board of Higher Education to approve its listing before making it public.

Birge, the college’s 12th president, announced Sept. 2 that he would retire after 10 years as MCLA’s president, capping a 42-year higher education career. A week later, Kennedy, the seventh president to lead BCC, announced she would also retire, ending 14 years at the helm.

In an email, MCLA spokesperson Bernadette Alden said the next steps are a recruiting period, followed by candidate review, first-round interviews and finalist interviews, followed by the selection of a candidate and required approvals.

"We anticipate the timeline remaining consistent with the planned July 1 start date for a new president," Alden said. That timeline, as laid out on the school's presidential search web page, anticipates candidate reviews in February, finalist appearances on campus in March and a final selection forwarded to the Board of Higher Education in April.

The search committee is expected to meet again in mid-February, while the MCLA Board of Trustees are scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12 at Murdock Hall, Room 208, Alden said. The board meeting will also be streamed online.

The MCLA campus profile and job listing speak to the challenges facing the college, particularly continuing to grow enrollment after a lengthy period of decline.

Data on the board's enrollment data webpage show MCLA had a headcount enrollment of 1,144 in fiscal 2025 — the 12 months ending June 30 of last year. That number was 1,572 in fiscal 2020.

State headcount estimates for the current school year showed a slight increase in headcount over the prior year, from 794 in fall 2024 to 828 this past fall. Those figures are expected to be revised and updated.

It’s expected that the new president will use the “Finding Our Voice” strategic plan the college approved last year. That five-year plan calls on MCLA to reaffirm its liberal arts focus and mission, emphasize access and inclusion — especially for students often excluded from higher education — and enhance the student experience.

“MCLA's primary market differentiator is its unique identity as a public liberal arts college. The next president must be a visible, authentic, and effective spokesperson for this identity,” the leadership profile says. “The selected President will bring a deep knowledge of the liberal arts tradition and how that training can enhance pre-professional degrees.”

It also seeks “a personal and authentic commitment to friend-raising and fundraising.”

The role is projected to pay between $300,000 and $350,000, with housing and benefits provided. Birge is earning $328,114 this year, according to payroll records through the state comptroller’s office.

While both MCLA and BCC have presidential search committees, a public interview process and boards of trustees who will vote to recommend successors, the state Board of Higher Education has the final say on presidential appointments for the state’s 15 community colleges and nine state colleges and universities. The vetting and hiring process, and the public input that is part of it, is largely prescribed by the board’s policies.

The firm of WittKieffer has been retained to manage the search.