WLU Names Final Four In President Search
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WEST LIBERTY -- Four finalists for West Liberty University president will visit the campus starting next week, talking with students, faculty, staff and community members in hopes of becoming the university's next leader.
WLU announced the finalists for the job Tuesday morning -- Tim Borchers, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Peru State College in Nebraska; David Christiansen, Chancellor of Penn State York; Kelly Ryan, Interim Chancellor of Indiana University Southeast; and Robert T. Smith, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Valdosta State University in Georgia.
"I am pleased to announce that we have four strong candidates for the next president of West Liberty University," said search committee chair Thomas Cervone, also an active alumnus and member of the Board of Governors. "The search committee looks forward to introducing these leaders to our campus community and to the public as we begin the final steps in the extensive process of finding a president."
The national search for a president resulted in 59 applications. The four finalists were selected after Zoom interviews with the search committee and professional consultants from AGB Search.
After the finalists visit campus and meet with alumni, staff, students, faculty and the public, the search committee will reconvene and evaluate the campus interviews with the assistance of AGB Search. The committee then presents its final recommendations to the Board of Governors, who makes the final selection and forwards the name to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission for its seal of approval.
WLU hopes to have a president on board sometime in late spring, with an expected date of contract to begin July 1.
Cathy Monteroso has served as the university's interim president since January after former president W. Franklin Evans' contract was not renewed. The WLU Board of Governors voted in August not to renew Evans' contract after a tumultuous two-year term.
In his first year on the job, he was forced to apologize for having plagiarized parts of several speeches that he had made both on and off campus. The university's Faculty Senate in October 2021 gave a vote of no confidence to Evans. And in April 2022, a WLU faculty and staff survey showed very little trust in Evans' leadership and personal integrity.
Below are short profiles of each finalist, along with the date they are scheduled to come to WLU:
∫ Kelly Ryan (Visit: April 16-18) -- Ryan became IU Southeast's interim chancellor in July, becoming the eighth chancellor and fourth woman chancellor to serve the campus. In 2020, Ryan became the chief academic officer as executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, where she had oversight over the university's quality and development of all academic and noncredit programs, the university's accreditation process and the recruitment, evaluation, promotion and tenure of faculty and other academic personnel.
Prior to that, she served as coordinator of the gender and women's studies program from 2011-13, coordinator of the history department from 2014-16, and dean of the School of Social Sciences from 2016-20.
∫ Tim Borchers (Visit: April 19-21) -- In his role at Peru State, Borchers collaborates with deans, faculty and staff to provide a personalized, engaging, and transformative educational experience for a diverse student population. During his time in this position, Peru State has achieved its highest first-year retention rate in the past 30 years and has enrolled two of the largest first-year student classes in the past 30 years.
Borchers spearheaded the campus' migration to new retention software and motivated faculty to use the software to provide regular updates on students' academic progress. The college has added new academic programs and partnerships to prepare students to meet workforce needs.
∫ Robert T. Smith (Visit: April 23-25) -- Smith leads a team of more than 500 faculty and staff, providing undergraduate through doctoral degree programs that enroll more than 10,000 students. His focus has been on student success, especially through expanding experiential learning opportunities, thereby improving retention and graduation rates, particularly among underrepresented students.
Prior to his service at Valdosta State, Smith served as provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Armstrong State University in Savannah, Georgia. (now part of Georgia Southern University). Previously, he served Millersville University of Pennsylvania in a succession of roles, including associate professor and professor of mathematics, chair of the Department of Mathematics and dean of Science and Mathematics.
∫ David Christiansen (Visit: April 25-27) -- Christiansen began as Penn State York's chancellor on August 1, 2018. He joined Penn State in 2004 as a senior associate dean for Academic Affairs at Penn State Erie. In 2013, he was appointed the Associate Vice President and Senior Associate Dean for the Penn State Commonwealth Campuses, overseeing the academic mission of 20 Penn State campuses, along with its 30,000 students and 1,700 full-time faculty members.
As chancellor, his accomplishments include the development of a new strategic plan, a successful capital campaign, the building of the Graham Center for Innovation and Collaboration, the development of DEI initiatives such as the Center for Inclusive Leadership, and multiple community partnerships, including the Penn State York LaunchBox for early-stage entrepreneurs.