Alabama college picks 1st female president in school history

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Spring Hill Faculty has chosen a girl to function its president, the primary to take action within the college’s 192-year historical past.

Mary H. Van Brunt will grow to be the thirty ninth president starting in January. Van Brunt at the moment serves as provost and vp of educational affairs at Gwynedd Mercy College in Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania. She additionally served practically 17 years because the founding dean of the Faculty of Enterprise, Arts and Media at Cabrini College in Radnor, Pennsylvania.

“I stay up for connecting with the Spring Hill neighborhood and finishing up the centuries-old Jesuit custom of caring for the mental, non secular, and social development of our future servant leaders,” Van Brunt mentioned in a press release.

After an intensive search, the college mentioned Van Brunt was chosen to interchange E. Joseph Lee II who’s retiring as president in December. He has held the publish since August 2018.

Jack McKinney, chairman of the Spring Hill Faculty Board of Trustees, mentioned Lee led the establishment by means of the COVID-19 pandemic, helped the school develop new and award-winning educational majors and “strengthened neighborhood partnerships with the army, native companies and faculties.”

“We’re grateful to Dr. Lee for his imaginative and prescient and his management,” he mentioned.

Spring Hill was based in 1830 and is the oldest Catholic faculty within the Southeast and the third oldest Jesuit faculty within the U.S., in response to its web site.

“The mission coupled with the liberal arts training resonates with me and aligns with my Catholic religion and private values,” Van Brunt mentioned.