University of Colorado administrator named next president

VALPARAISO, Ind. – A Colorado educator with more than a decade of administrative experience has been named president of Valparaiso University effective July 1.

Mark A. Heckler, 52, provost and vice chancellor for academic and student affairs at University of Colorado Denver, will become the 18th president in Valparaiso’s nearly 150-year history and will replace Alan F. Harre, who is retiring June 30 after 20 years as president.

In announcing Heckler’s selection, David Hessler, chair of the University’s Board of Directors, said that Heckler’s breadth of experience and his proven leadership skills at a large and complex institution first attracted the attention of the Search Committee, which was charged with guiding the presidential search and ultimately recommending a candidate to the Board.

“As impressive as Mark Heckler is on paper, members of the Search Committee and members of the campus community became even more enthused about the contributions he could make to Valparaiso University after they met him,” Hessler said.

“Comments by faculty, students and staff after he made a two-day visit to campus earlier this month were very positive.  Responses such as ‘energetic,’ ‘enthusiastic,’ ‘visionary‘ and ‘a great fit’ reaffirmed what members of the Search Committee identified during earlier interviews with him.”

A native of Pennsylvania, Heckler has been at the University of Colorado Denver since 1995, when he joined the staff as a tenured professor of theatre and director of the School of Arts.  Under his leadership, the School of Arts was expanded and renamed the College of Arts and Media and he was named the new college’s founding dean in 1998.  He held that position until 2003 when he served briefly as UC Denver’s acting chancellor before being appointed to his current position.

Heckler has extensive experience in development of international study programs and served two years as the U.S. administrator of an undergraduate liberal arts degree-granting program in Beijing operated jointly by China Agricultural University and UC Denver.

Prior to moving to Denver, Heckler was director of theatre and professor of fine arts at Siena (N.Y.) College for 16 years.  While in New York, he also was managing director of an outdoor summer professional theatre for two years, producing 63 nights of theatre for nearly 80,000 patrons a year. His artistic career as an actor, director and designer comprises more than 100 academic and professional productions in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East.

Heckler earned a bachelor of arts degree in communications with honors from Elizabethtown (Pa.) College in 1977 and a master of fine arts degree in drama with an emphasis in directing from Catholic University in Washington, D.C., in 1979.  He is nearing completion of a doctorate in educational leadership and innovation from the University of Colorado.

At UC Denver, a doctorate-granting research institution with three campuses in Denver that serve more than 28,000 students enrolled in more than 100 programs, Heckler has direct responsibility for seven colleges and schools and shared responsibilities for schools and programs at the university’s Anschutz Medical Campus.

He led development of UC Denver’s first academic master plan and launched work on a comprehensive strategic plan that will be completed next month.  He also guided creation of a university-wide undergraduate core curriculum, launched a special program for first-year students, expanded university honors and leadership programs and inaugurated UC Denver’s Digital Animation Center and the Colorado Film School.

Heckler also played an integral role in raising funds for the university’s $40 million  Kenneth Kendal King Academic and Performing Arts Center, secured a $5.25 million gift for the Starz Filmcenter of which he was co-founder, helped secure a $1 million grant for the Advance Colorado Center that he also co-founded, and helped plan and secure funding for a $104 million Science Building now under construction at UC Denver.

Heckler is a past president of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and founder and co-director of the association’s Leadership Institute.  He has served as a member of the boards of the Denver Film Society and the National Center for Voice and Speech at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.  He also is a member of the Denver Chamber of Commerce Cultural Task Force and a member of the Community Advisory Board for KBDI Rocky Mountain Public Television.

“The Search Committee reported that people who have worked with Mark Heckler described him as a leader who fosters teamwork and collaboration to achieve strategically planned goals,” Hessler said.  “These are the skills we sought in our next president and we look forward to continued success at Valparaiso under his leadership.

“Members of the Board of Directors and I are extremely grateful to the Search Committee for its excellent work.  Under the leadership of Fred Kraegel, a member of the Board of Directors, the committee conducted a search that ultimately brought three finalists to campus for two-day visits.  All three have impressive records, but Mark Heckler clearly emerged as the best choice to assume the presidency of Valparaiso University.  He was the unanimous choice of the Search Committee and the Board of Directors.”

Heckler, who attends St. Philip Lutheran Church in Littleton, Colo., said he is pleased to have the opportunity to be associated with a faith-based institution.

“I can now see that my whole life—personally, educationally and professionally—has led me toward this opportunity with Valparaiso,” he said.  “It is vitally important that future generations continue to have the opportunity for an outstanding education in a faith-based environment that fosters discovery and creativity. I believe Valparaiso University has a greater leadership role to play, nationally and internationally, in ensuring access to excellent, faith-based undergraduate, graduate and professional education.  Valpo is the right place for me and I am excited about becoming a part of this outstanding University.”

Valparaiso University is a comprehensive university with a Lutheran heritage that enrolls nearly 4,000 students on its campus 55 miles southeast of Chicago. It has been identified as one of the top master’s-level institutions in the Midwest by U.S. News & World Report magazine for the past 19 years, and most recently was ranked among the top three in academic quality for the eighth consecutive year.

More than 80 academic programs, as well as 14 international study options, are offered through the School of Law and the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Engineering and Nursing. Valparaiso also has a distinguished honors college (Christ College) and a rapidly growing offering of graduate programs.

Plans finalized for third candidate

November 28 – Arrangements have been finalized for the remaining candidate scheduled to visit campus as part of the University’s presidential search. Mark A. Heckler, provost and vice chancellor for academic and student affairs at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, will visit campus Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 4 and 5.

He has been provost and vice chancellor for academic and student affairs at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center since 2003. A professor of theatre, film and television, he was named founding dean of the College of Arts and Media at the University of Colorado at Denver in 1998 after three years as director of the university’s School of Arts. Earlier he was coordinator of International College at Beijing, 1996-98; professor of fine arts/director of theatre at Siena College, 1979-95; managing director, Life at the Lakehouse, City of Albany, N.Y., 1985-87; instructor, freshman acting, Catholic University of America, 1978-79; and narrator “Talking Books,” 1977-79. A Ph.D. degree candidate (educational leadership and innovation) at the University of Colorado, he earned his M.F.A. from Catholic University of America and his B.A. from Elizabethtown College. He has served numerous professional and community organizations, including the Colorado Film Commission and the Association for Theatre in Higher Education.

Other finalists invited to campus as part of the search for Valparaiso’s 18th president are Dr. Wayne B. Powell, president of Lenoir-Rhyne College, Nov. 29 and 30, and The Rev. Dr. Patrick T. Ferry, president of Concordia University Wisconsin, Dec. 6 and 7.

The two-day schedule of activities for each candidate includes open forums with faculty, students and staff as well as individual and small-group meetings. Information gathered during the visits will be included in the Search Committee’s evaluations and ultimate recommendation of a candidate to succeed Dr. Alan F. Harre as University president effective July 1, 2008.

3 Finalists to Visit Campus

November 26 – Three finalists in the search for the 18th president of Valparaiso University have been invited by the Search Committee and each will make a two-day visit to campus to visit with faculty, students and staff.

Dr. Wayne B. Powell, president of Lenoir-Rhyne College, will visit campus on Nov. 29 and 30, and The Rev. Dr. Patrick T. Ferry, president of Concordia University Wisconsin, will visit campus Dec. 6 and 7. Arrangements are being finalized for the third candidate, who will visit campus Dec. 4 and 5.

Dr. Wayne B. Powell was named president of Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, N.C., in 2002 after serving two years as vice president and dean for academic affairs. He joined the mathematics faculty at Oklahoma State in 1980 and subsequently added additional duties as director of graduate studies in mathematics, 1987-92, and associate dean then dean of the graduate college, 1992-2000. In 1986-87 he was a visiting associate professor at the University of Kansas where he had served as an instructor, 1978-80. He earned his Ph.D. degree (mathematics) from Tulane University, his M.S. (mathematics) from Texas A&M University and his B.S. (mathematics) from Texas Lutheran College. He has provided leadership to a variety of civic and professional organizations including the President’s Council of the colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Hickory Metro Higher Education Center. He served nine years as director of the Oklahoma Principals’ Science Scholars program.

Rev. Dr. Patrick T. Ferry has been president of Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon since 1997 and a member of the history faculty there since 1991. He taught in the School of Religion at the University of Wyoming, 1990-91, and was a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of History at the University of Colorado, 1987-89. He received associate’s and bachelor’s degrees from Saint John’s College in Winfield, Kan.; a master of divinity from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees (history) from the University of Colorado. He served as campus pastor at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Campus Congregation at the University of Wyoming, 1989-91, and as assistant pastor at Wheat Ridge Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colo., 1987-89 He has provided leadership to a number of civic and professional organizations including the Greater Milwaukee Committee, the Lutheran Education Conference of North America, Lutheran Living Services, and LCMS Theological Convocations.

Search to narrow field further

November 16 – The committee charged with the responsibility of identifying the next president of the University will be interviewing a half dozen candidates the weekend of Nov. 17 with the goal of selecting two to four candidates who will be invited to make two-day visits to campus.

Fred Kraegel, chair of the Search Committee, said the first candidate could be on campus as soon as the week after Thanksgiving.

“Depending upon the candidates’ abilities to clear their schedules and make travel arrangements, we could have a candidate on campus late in the week following Thanksgiving and the remaining candidates on campus the following week,” Kraegel said.

“This is a very tight schedule, but we feel it is important to have the visits in close proximity to each other. We recognize, however, that candidates of the quality we will be inviting to campus may have firm commitments that restrict their travel opportunities at this busy time of the year. If necessary, we will adjust our timing of campus visits.”

Kraegel said that the campus-based Support Committee, chaired by Dr. Janet Brown, dean of the College of Nursing, has developed a schedule of activities for each candidate while on campus. Included will be separate forums to which faculty, students and administrative staff will be invited.

Interviews will narrow field

November 1, 2007 - Finalists in the search for a successor to Valparaiso University President Alan Harre could be known by the end of November.

Fred Kraegel, a member of the University’s Board of Directors and chair of the Search Committee, reports that the search has been narrowed to a group of less than 10 candidates, each of whom will meet with the Search Committee prior to Thanksgiving. From those interviews, which will be held off campus, two to four finalists will be selected and invited to campus for two-day visits.

Kraegel said dates for the campus visits will not be finalized until after consultation with the finalists, but that the Search Committee hopes to keep the selection process moving without lengthy delays. “It is our intent that each of the finalists will visit campus in a fairly narrow window of time,” he said. “We prefer that the campus visits not extend over a period of several weeks.”

As the Search Committee reviewed applications as part of its work to identify the candidates it wished to interview, Kraegel said the committee was impressed with the quality of candidates in a pool assembled with the help of Witt/Kieffer, a Chicago-based executive search firm. “Several well qualified candidates did not make it to the next round,” Kraegel said. “We believe we are in the enviable position of being able to select Valpo’s next president from an outstanding group of candidates.”

Search Committee to begin Screening

October 12, 2007 - The Search Committee charged with the responsibility of recommending to the Board of Directors a candidate to become the University’s next president is expected to begin screening candidates later this month.

Board member Fred Kraegel, chair of the Search Committee, said that the group will screen a group of more than 20 candidates in an effort to reduce the field to 10 to 12 candidates who will be interviewed at an off-campus location in November.  From that group, two to four candidates will be invited to campus for two-day visits in December or January.

The pool has been assembled by Witt/Kieffer, an executive search firm engaged to aide in the search process, which also has provided initial screening of the candidates and affirmed their interest in the position.

Kraegel and Board chair David Hessler met last week with the Support Committee, which will coordinate the campus visits by the finalists.

Support Committee Named

October 5, 2007 - The Support Committee that will play a critical role in the process of selecting the next president of Valparaiso University has been formed.

Appointed to the committee by David Hessler, chair of the University’s Board of Directors, from nominations made by various constituent groups are Dr. Janet Brown, dean of the College of Nursing; Dr. Daniel Arkkelin, chair of the Department of Psychology;  Dr. Fred Niedner, professor of theology; Dr. Douglas Tougaw, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering; Julie Thomas, executive director of the University Guild; Jane Bello-Brunson, director of multicultural programs; Jane Claiborne, associate director of athletics-administrative services; and Cody Shumaker, a senior from Lena, Ill.

A primary responsibility for this committee will be planning the two-day visits to campus by the finalists in the presidential search process and hosting the candidates during those visits.  Members of the committee also will provide feedback to the Search Committee regarding each candidate.

Fred Kraegel, chair of the Search Committee, said that interest in the position continues to be high according to the executive search firm that is aiding in the process.  “They believe that the Search Committee will have an excellent pool of candidates from which a group of semi-finalists will be selected,” Kraegel said.  “From among the semi-finalists, a small number of candidates will be invited by the Search Committee to make campus visits.”

Vacancy drawing wide interest

September 27, 2007 - The presidential search at Valpo is attracting a great deal of attention from potential candidates, according to the executive search firm retained by the Board of Directors to assist in the search process.

Fred Kraegel, a member of the University’s Board of Directors and chair of the Search Committee, said that representatives of Witt/Kieffer reported to the Search Committee that the time since the organization meeting of the Search Committee in late July has been very productive.

“Witt/Kieffer reports that interest in the position is high and says they anticipate having a field of excellent candidates for review by the Search Committee,” Kraegel said.

Kraegel said once the field of candidates is assembled, the Search Committee will identify a smaller poll of semi-finalists from which three or four finalists will be selected for campus visits.

Helping plan and host the finalists will be an eight-member Support Committee of faculty, staff and students.  That group is being selected and will hold its organizational meeting Oct. 4.

“At this point it is impossible to accurately predict how fast the selection process will move forward,” Kraegel said.  “Although we hope to name a successor to President Harre without unnecessary delay, our immediate focus is on making certain we build a field of strong candidates from which we select the best person.”