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The Wittenberg University Board of Directors has unanimously elected Dr. Laurie M. Joyner as the university’s 14th president effective July 1. Dr. Joyner is currently vice president for planning and dean of the college at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. She will become the first female president of the 167-year-old national liberal arts university in Ohio.
“Dr. Joyner represents an ideal fit for the challenges and opportunities facing Wittenberg,” said David L. Boyle, chair of the Board of Directors, chair of the presidential search committee and a 1969 alumnus of Wittenberg. “Her exemplary qualifications along with her student-centered, data-driven approach to problem solving, and uncompromising commitment to the liberal arts clearly resonated with the Wittenberg community, and we are thrilled that she has agreed to lead Wittenberg forward. The search committee and the Board were also impressed with Dr. Joyner’s enthusiasm for Wittenberg’s mission and appreciation for the quality of education provided to our students, both inside and outside the classroom.”
Dr. Joyner succeeds Dr. Mark H. Erickson, who began his tenure in 2005 and will continue to serve as president until June 30, 2012, when he will assume the presidency of Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
“I am honored to be selected to lead Wittenberg University at this important time in its history,” Dr. Joyner said. “Wittenberg was attractive to me for its commitment to the liberal arts within the context of an inclusive, person-centered academic community. Educating students in the Lutheran tradition of service emphasizes the intellectual, social and ethical dimensions of student development. In this way, Wittenberg helps students discover their purpose and better understand their responsibility to enhance the common good.”
As vice president for planning and dean of the college at Rollins, Dr. Joyner is a member of the President’s Cabinet and provides leadership for campus-wide strategic planning and student success initiatives. She serves as senior student affairs officer, overseeing all aspects of student life, support services, high-impact educational practices and athletics at the college, which currently enrolls more than 3,000 students.
Prior to her current position, Dr. Joyner served as interim vice president for academic affairs and provost, overseeing undergraduate and graduate education and student affairs spanning three schools. In this position, she initiated a campus-wide plan to improve student retention, created the office of student success and assisted with the establishment of a new College of Professional Studies.
Dr. Joyner also served as dean of the faculty at Rollins from 2007-2010. During this time, she enhanced faculty development, supported the integration of curricular and co-curricular efforts to strengthen student learning, and established the office of grants and contracts to assist faculty and staff seeking external funding. She also secured resources to support the development of a strategic faculty compensation system and led implementation of a “Maymester” term to meet student needs while generating new resources.
Before joining Rollins, Dr. Joyner served as associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University New Orleans. In this capacity, she oversaw college curricular initiatives, the administration of academic policies and procedures, and the assessment of student learning outcomes. Dr. Joyner also developed and implemented a comprehensive first-year experience program and faculty development initiatives.
A native of New Orleans, Dr. Joyner graduated magna cum laude from Loyola University New Orleans and earned master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology from Tulane University. Throughout her academic and administrative career, a consistent priority has been linking the academy to diverse communities in ways that deepen student, faculty and staff learning while addressing pressing social issues. Dr. Joyner’s passion for engagement is reflected in her professional presentations, external grants and contracts, publications and community leadership roles. Her campus and community leadership has been recognized with awards in the areas of community engagement, student service and support, and engaged scholarship.
Dr. Joyner’s election as the president of Wittenberg University follows a seven-month search process conducted by a 17-member search committee comprised of current and emeritus directors, faculty and staff members, one student and an alumni representative that reviewed the candidacies of more than 60 applicants. The search was led by the national executive search firm Isaacson, Miller. During her visit to campus in early February, Dr. Joyner met with each of Wittenberg’s various constituencies in small group meetings or open forums. Information on Dr. Joyner’s inauguration will be forthcoming.
Founded in 1845, Wittenberg University is a nationally ranked liberal arts university dedicated to intellectual inquiry and wholeness of person within a diverse residential community. Reflecting its Lutheran heritage, Wittenberg challenges students to become responsible global citizens, to discover their callings, and to lead personal, professional and civic lives of creativity, service, compassion and integrity.
Wittenberg offers more than 60 majors, minors and special programs and has been ranked in the top 20 in four categories: Best Classroom Experience, Professors Get High Marks, Campus Beauty and Involvement in Intramurals in “The Best 371 Colleges” released by The Princeton Review (2010 and 2009). The University also boasts the highest number of “Ohio Professor-of-the-Year” recipients among four-year institutions in the state, as well as 13 Fulbright grants during the past 14 years. Seventy percent of Wittenberg graduates pursue post-graduate study within five years of graduation, and all students participate in community service and leadership development.
Wittenberg athletic teams have the most wins in NCAA Division III history in football and men’s basketball, including eight national titles. Tiger teams have won 70 conference crowns, making the university a leader in the North Coast Athletic Conference and a national-level competitor. Last fall, the women’s volleyball team captured the national championship, marking the first such achievement in a women’s sport at Wittenberg. Four former Tigers are enshrined in the National College Football Hall of Fame.
To contact Dr. Joyner, email her at president-elect@wittenberg.edu.
