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May 9, 2005
 Monmouth
College announced today that Mauri Ditzler,
the dean of Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind., has been
selected to serve as the 13th president in its 152-year history.
Ditzler will officially begin his position on July 1.
Acting on the recommendations of both a national and local search
committee, the board of trustees Saturday unanimously approved the
appointment. The Indiana native set himself apart from a select
field of presidential candidates with his excellent academic
background, engaging personality, leadership traits and
understanding of a small liberal arts college, according to David
Bowers, chairman of the board.
“We are tremendously impressed with Dr. Ditzler’s academic
credentials, his ability to communicate and his proven track
record,” said Bowers. “On top of that, we believe that his strong
liberal arts background and traditional Midwestern values make him
an excellent fit for Monmouth College.”
Ditzler, a 1975 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wabash, has served in his
current role as chief academic officer for the school since 1999. He
has been deeply involved in strategic planning, grant writing,
faculty governance and hiring, tenure decisions and helping to
promote Wabash’s Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts. The center
was established through a $20.8 million grant he helped conceive and
write. Ditzler also assisted with the successful completion of
Wabash’s $132 million capital campaign.
“Judi and I are delighted to be coming to Monmouth,” said Ditzler.
“We are so impressed with the people we have met so far. Everyone at
the college and in the town has been welcoming.”
He continued, “It is a special privilege to become part of
Monmouth’s long tradition of student-centered education. I am
fortunate to follow in the footsteps of so many who have worked so
hard to make Monmouth an outstanding institution.”
Ditzler earned his Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Duke
University in 1979. He was a member of the faculty at College of the
Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., for the next 15 years before
accepting his first dean position in 1994 at Millikin University in
Decatur. In his final year at Millikin, he served as acting vice
president for academic affairs.
Besides the Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts, one of Ditzler’s
most measurable accomplishments in his six-year stint as dean at his
alma mater was overseeing the construction of Hays Hall, the
college’s new biology and chemistry building. Ditzler might repeat
that accomplishment at Monmouth, as a new science facility is high
on the list of future projects that the board hopes to complete. In
fact, Ditzler has participated in the planning of three new science
buildings, one at each of the institutions where he’s worked.
The Ditzlers have raised their own team of scientists. Their older
daughter, Meggan, teaches chemistry in Vermont. Their son, Mark, is
in the biophysics graduate program at the University of Michigan,
and Lorin, their younger daughter, will graduate this year from
Grinnell College.
The Ditzlers own a farm outside of Crawfordsville, and he is fond of
spending his free time there, growing fruit and repairing its old
barn. Additionally, he has run a business for the past 35 summers
that specializes in corn detasseling.
“I look forward to spending the upcoming months learning the core
values of the college,” Ditzler concluded. “As a community, we will
develop strategies to sustain the existing momentum and explore ways
to make an excellent college even better.”
Ironically, Monmouth College’s announcement comes on a day that is
already special for Ditzler. Born on May 9, 1953, he is celebrating
his 52nd birthday in presidential style. |
