Drury tabs Cloyd for resurgence

The next president of Drury University is expected by those who pegged him for the post to be, among other things, a fundraiser with a vision for what separates the school from other institutions.

J. Timothy Cloyd has experience in that area. Cloyd, the former head of Hendrix College in Conway, Ark., raised enrollment at the liberal-arts school – about two miles from the larger, public University of Central Arkansas – by over 50 percent between 2001 and 2013. During Cloyd’s tenure, the campus added 13 buildings, several athletic facilities, a dozen new majors and four new sports, including Division III football. His efforts contributed to the school being named one of 2014’s “100 Most Financially Fit Colleges” in America by Forbes magazine.

“Drury is more of a boutique,” Cloyd said at an April 9 news conference at the O’Reilly Family Events Center, where he was introduced as Drury’s 18th president.

Cloyd, who’s currently in a teaching role at Hendrix, comes to Drury following a time of change and challenges for the school.

About a month before President David Manuel’s late October retirement announcement, the school launched a restructuring effort and decided not to renew the contracts of 12 faculty members over a two year-period. In the fall semester, traditional undergraduate day-school enrollment fell 9 percent to 1,325 students, compared to 1,454 in fall 2014.

In late 2013, just months after Manuel started, the school identified 35 positions impacted by $2.3 million in budget cuts through retirements, job consolidations and holding vacant positions open.

For Cloyd, keys to raising enrollment at Drury are rooted in strategically branding the school as a place for a more personal and enriching student experience.

Cloyd told Springfield Business Journal he wants to look closely at raising top lines – revenue from tuition and fees as well as the school’s $88.8 million endowment – to address operational needs.

“We have to deliver a return on investment,” he said.

One of Cloyd’s first orders of business is to conduct a price and discount study on tuition and fees to find the right mix of charges and aid. He also speaks about the relationship with Missouri State University.

“I think it’s wonderful these institutions are in close proximity to each other because there are synergies we could develop, but also, it gives us the real possibility of visually, purposefully differentiating ourselves,” he said.

Manuel said Cloyd’s ability to successfully raise funds for the school would be key.

“It’s absolutely critical. It doesn’t matter what your institution is, you better be sure that you bring all that’s necessary for development to occur – by that I mean alumni development, donor development,” Manuel said.

Drury alumnus Michael Wehrenberg, owner of Springfield-based Web-service firm Wehrenberg Design Co., served on the 11-member presidential search committee that selected Cloyd over some 200 nominations and applicants.

The process was more secretive than the selection of former Louisiana State University-Alexandria chancellor and economics professor Manuel. Before Manuel was named, finalists visited the campus; that was not the case this time around.

“It might have been the best kept secret ever at Drury,” Wehrenberg said. “I couldn’t even tell my wife who we were talking to.”

Among top goals was to find someone with presidential experience.

“For me, the biggest distinguishing factor is that he’s been there and done that,” Wehrenberg said of Cloyd. “He’s demonstrated an ability to take an institution much like Drury and do some amazing things.

“We weren’t in a position to let somebody learn on the job.”

Former local bank executive Todd Parnell had stepped in as interim after the unexpected exit of John Sellers in 2007, so no one was caught off guard when Parnell officially took the reins in 2008, said Tom McAlear, a nearly 20-year board member who served on the selection committees for both Parnell and Cloyd.

For McAlear, the hope is Cloyd would bring continuity back to the post – something missing since John Moore served from 1983 to 2005.

“He absolutely has that potential,” McAlear said, adding it was important Cloyd knew what it was like to run a similar liberal-arts school and had a track record of success in fundraising, increasing enrollment and development of academic programs. “He checked every box.”

On Cloyd’s resume as president of Hendrix, the school completed a $100 million capital campaign, the school’s largest, gained support from the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation to create the Rwanda Presidential Scholars initiative and developed student housing to connect students to downtown amenities.

Moore represents many qualities the recent search committee sought in a candidate, said McAlear, the former president and CEO of Mercedes Benz Credit and DaimlerChrysler Insurance in Michigan. Moore charted a course financially and academically.

“Drury saw a lot of positive change during his time,” McAlear said. “He expanded the scope of Drury.”

Moore pulled the liberal-arts school out of debt, overseeing steady growth in both academic programs and enrollment, according to Drury.edu. The endowment reached nearly $100 million at one point during his tenure and new buildings constructed include the Hammons School of Architecture, Trustee Science Center and Olin Library.

John Sellars, McAlear said, was more of an academic who resigned weeks before taking the president job at Graceland University in Iowa. With Parnell, the presidential post took on more of a business focus during his five-year tenure. And it helped during the selection process that Parnell was a known entity with many Drury alumni.

“Todd bled Drury red and gray through and through,” McAlear said, adding Parnell also had the tough task of navigating the university during the Great Recession years.

With Manuel, his academic credentials were top-notch, but McAlear said he didn’t bring direct experience as a sitting president. That was a goal of the board this time around.

And one of the top responsibilities of the new president will be to raise the bar as it relates to the school’s endowment, Wehrenberg said. Under Manuel, Drury’s endowment grew from under $80 million to nearly $89 million.

“One of the major roles of any college president, in my opinion, is you have to be able to develop because buildings just don’t pay for themselves,” he said.