WAVERLY – Wartburg College has hired its first-ever female president after a five-month search “drew a strong pool of diverse candidates currently leading at institutions around the world,” according to the college.
Rebecca Neiduski, formerly the dean of the School of Health Sciences at Elon University in North Carolina, was introduced Monday. She is the 18th president in the institution’s 170-year history.
Her first day is July 1.
“My entire career has been built on the values of Wartburg’s mission statement. Throughout my career, I have challenged and nurtured others to reach their greatest potential and provided leadership and service at universities, in the classroom, and around the world,” she said in a statement. “Being raised as a Lutheran, by Lutheran school teachers, instilled in me a deep commitment to the integration of faith and learning.”
She replaces Darrel D. Colson who will retire at the end of the 2021 academic year after a 13-year tenure that started July 1, 2009.
“As we gather, I recognize that we all have been and continue to be living in a time of great change and with a high degree of uncertainty. Welcoming a new president is yet another change,” she told a crowd inside Wartburg Chapel on Monday. “The most important thing I want you to know is that I am fully committed to you and to this community. And I am excited to work with you as we begin this new chapter.
“There’s a strong and powerful legacy here at Wartburg College. It began with the students and leaders who came before us. Their vision and perseverance created both a strong foundation and generational success. Everyone I have met through this hiring process shares the history of Wartburg with tremendous pride.”
A 14-person search committee — comprising the Board of Regents and faculty, staff and student representatives — unanimously recommended Neiduski as a candidate with “a strong communication skills; a history of leadership in diversity, equity and inclusion efforts; a history of fundraising success; and a track record for leading innovation to the Board of Regents,” reads an announcement from the college.
“Dr. Neiduski rose to the top of a very competitive group of candidates, and we are thrilled her path has led her to Wartburg,” said Mike McCoy, chair of the Wartburg Board of Regents, in a press release. “We all were impressed by her ability to embrace Wartburg’s mission and vision and be a relationship builder. She has the depth of experience and the leadership ability to lead Wartburg into the future.”
The regents unanimously agreed to extend an offer to the new president, who will be responsible for leading the execution of the college’s newly adopted strategic plan, “Our Brightest Days: Realizing Purpose, Leading Change.”
Prior to Neiduski’s work at Elon, she was the chair and program director for the department of occupational therapy at Concordia University-Wisconsin and an associate professor of occupational therapy with tenure at Maryville University in St. Louis.
Photos: Wartburg wrestlers at the NCAA Division III championships