Internet2 announced today that after twelve years of service, president and CEO Douglas Van Houweling has asked the Board of Trustees to begin the process of identifying a successor. Van Houweling has agreed to continue to lead the organization as president and CEO until his successor is transitioned into the role.

“We are so grateful for Doug’s extraordinary leadership over the past twelve years and thank him for his incredible service to our community,” said Jeff Lehman, chair of the Internet2 Board of Trustees. “The Board is committed to recruiting a worthy successor, someone who will build effectively on Doug’s remarkable legacy. The search will begin immediately, and it will continue as long as is necessary.”

Established in 1996, Internet2 is an advanced networking consortium led by the research and education community. Internet2 represents an exceptional partnership spanning U.S. and international institutions who are leaders in the worlds of research, academia, industry and government, that are together focused on developing and deploying breakthrough cyberinfrastructure that supports a wide range of discipline communities.

Led by its members and focused on their current and future networking needs, Internet2 operates a state-of-the-art national IP and optical infrastructure that together with its regional network partners, reaches close to 70,000 “community anchor institutions,” including research universities, colleges and community colleges, K-12 schools, libraries, museums, and science centers, with over 10 million individual users.

The new CEO of Internet2 will build on the organization’s successes to ensure it continues to foster the innovation and collaboration that have become the cornerstones of the Internet2 community and which have helped to revolutionize the research and learning environment. The new CEO will work with the Internet2 community to execute on its five-year strategic plan, which began implementation in early 2009.

Molly Broad, President of the American Council on Education and former chair of the Internet2 Board, has agreed to lead the board’s Search Committee. Broad will be joined in that effort by leaders in the higher education community including: James Bottum, CIO and Vice Provost for Computing and Information Technology at Clemson University; David Frohnmayer, President Emeritus, University of Oregon; Tim Lance, President and Chairman of NYSERNet; Michael McRobbie, President of Indiana University; Alan Whitney, Associate Director and Principal Research Scientist at MIT Haystack Observatory; and Jeff Lehman. In addition, the respected executive search firm Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, LLC has been retained to help lead the recruitment effort on behalf of the Internet2 Board.

Lehman added, “The board and Internet2 intend to draw on the full resources of the Internet2 community to ensure that we recruit a new CEO who is well matched to the community and organization’s current and future needs.”

Van Houweling stated in a letter to Internet2 members, “(Our) shared investment has created a vital resource for our community. Building on that investment, I am confident that Internet2’s largest contribution lies in the future. Working with all of you, I will do all I can during the coming transition to ensure that future.’”

The search committee intends to provide information regarding the CEO position and a proposed timeline for seeking candidates as soon as possible.