BLUFFTON, Ohio — For just the tenth time in its 119-year history, Bluffton University’s Board of Trustees has named a new president, announcing that Dr. Jane Wood has accepted and will start July 1.
“Dr. Wood has demonstrated success in achieving enrollment growth at several institutions by leading academic program innovation, strategic planning, alignment and visioning processes that moved those institutions forward, along with proven success in building relationships for public and private partnerships to broaden the school’s reach,” said Kent Yoder, chairman of the Bluffton University Board of Trustees. “She is a committed Christian with leadership experience at both Catholic and Protestant institutions and has a passion for social justice. We are excited that she was drawn to Bluffton for its mission, history and faith tradition rooted in peace and social justice. The Board is united in agreement that Dr. Jane Wood is the right person for this time in Bluffton’s history.”
“As a woman who was born and raised in the United Methodist Church (and where my husband and I raised our two daughters), I understand the power of faith as it resonates in individual lives and as it infuses organizations,” said Wood.
Wood currently serves as the vice president of academic affairs and dean at Mount Marty College, a Benedictine liberal arts and co-educational institution in Yankton, South Dakota. Her previous professional positions were at Westminster College, in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania; Park University and University of Missouri, both in Kansas City, Missouri; and at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas.
Her experience in higher education includes positions as a tenured faculty member, department chair, academic dean and vice president. Wood earned her Ph.D. and master’s degree in English literature from the University of Kansas and a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Missouri.
Wood follows Dr. James M. Harder, who will retire in June after 12 years as president at Bluffton University and more than 30 years working in higher education.
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