SRU's new leader impresses panel
After nearly two years of searching, Slippery Rock University students, faculty and staff have new leadership.
The Board of Governors of Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education Wednesday unanimously selected William J. Behre, provost of Georgian Court University, to be the next president of SRU. Behre will be the 17th president in the school's history.
“He will bring a vast array of experience to his new role as president of Slippery Rock,” Board of Governors Chairwoman Cynthia D. Shapira said. “We are confident he will provide the university the kind of leadership necessary to enable it to continue to advance its mission and to ensure student success.”
Behre has nearly 25 years' experience in higher education, including working as an educator, researcher, faculty leader and administrator. He has served as Georgian Court's chief academic officer since February 2014.
Behre will assume the SRU presidency on July 1, but the community won't have to wait until then to meet him. A welcoming reception will take place at 11 a.m. March 22nd in the ballroom of the Smith Student Center.
Behre said he is honored to have been selected by the board of governors.
“I look forward to collaborating with faculty, staff and students to continue to build upon the excellent work that is already taking place on campus,” he said. “My wife, Leah, and I are excited about returning to Pennsylvania, moving to campus and getting to know our new community.”
The selection concludes a national search for a successor to Cheryl Norton, who retired in July 2017 after five years as president. Philip Way, the university's former provost and vice president for academic and student affairs, has been serving as interim president since last summer.
University officials started the search for SRU's next president near the beginning of 2017, but trustees could not come to a decision on the first group of candidates. They restarted the school's search last fall.
“There were about 57 candidates from really around the world,” said Jeff Smith, head of the university's presidential search committee.
The university whittled down the candidates to two, which were sent to the Board of Governors for a final decision.
“(The committee members) worked really hard on this endeavor,” Smith said. “I'm grateful to them for all the work they put into it.”
Smith said Behre impressed the committee with his outgoing personality and experience.
“He has a great background. He actually started out as a teacher in a city school in New York City. He's grown from there to his current position as provost at Georgian Court,” Smith said. “He's seen a lot of different levels of education.”
SRU has 8,900 students enrolled this year. It offers 150 majors and minors at the undergraduate level, more than 40 master's degrees and three doctoral degree programs.
