YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Southwest Baptist University is “on schedule” to make an announcement about its next president by the end of this month, said Charlotte Marsch, the school’s director of marketing and communications.
“We’re still in the final stages of the search,” she said this morning, declining to disclose the number of applicants who submitted their resumes by the April deadline or whether finalists have been narrowed down.
SBU this morning issued a news release about current President C. Pat Taylor’s Aug. 4 retirement reception. Taylor, who’s the university’s longest-serving president, is scheduled to retire Aug. 31. The university announced his retirement date in January.
At the time, SBU Board of Trustees Chairman Don Fahrni said a 12-person search committee had a goal of putting a new president in place by Aug. 1.
SBU’s president since October 1996, Taylor’s tenure has been marked with fundraising proceeds of more than $122 million; endowment growth to $33 million from $4 million; the funding of 13 major building projects; and expansion of academic buildings and academic programs, according to the release.
His retirement reception is scheduled to be held at the Sells Administrative Center on SBU’s Bolivar campus.
The Republic School District is on track to open its Intermediate School for fifth- and sixth-grade students for the 2025-26 academic year.