DePauw University, Greencastle, tapped Lori White to become the school’s next president, making her the first Black person and woman to hold the position.
The university’s board of trustees voted unanimously to appoint her March 3. White is currently vice chancellor for student affairs at Washington University in St. Louis and will succeed D. Mark McCoy, who has been DePauw’s president since 2016.
White will be the school’s 21st president in its 183-year history.
“Throughout my career my commitment has been grounded in what I believe are the distinctive values of liberal arts universities such as DePauw,” White said in a press release, “and what makes them so special — that is, a focus on creating and sustaining community, engaging in collaborative leadership and decision-making and thinking about our greater sense of purpose as institutions of higher learning.”
Justin Christian, who led the 18-member search committee and is an alum of DePauw, said White became the committee’s choice because she’s a “true intellectual” with a “transparent, genuine nature.”
“Clearly, her credentials were exemplary,” he said. “… She had a very broad set of experiences that were student-centric that we felt like would be tremendous for DePauw.”
The committee spent eight months searching for a new president and, according to Christian, seriously considered about 40 candidates.
White will start her new post July 1.
Before joining Washington University in 2015, White worked with other institutions of higher education, including as vice president for student affairs and clinical professor of education at Southern Methodist University, as well as associate vice president for student affairs at the University of Southern California.
Kathy Patterson Vrabeck, chair of the board of trustees, said in the press release White is a “team-oriented leader” who’s passionate about the liberal arts.
“Throughout her career, Dr. White has brought a student-centered approach to her work and the work of the institutions she has served,” Vrabeck said.
Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.
