Lyle Roelofs, who served as interim president and as provost and dean of faculty at Colgate, has been named president of Berea College.
Roelofs had joined Colgate as a physics professor and its chief academic officer in 2004. As provost, he was responsible for faculty personnel, curriculum, athletics, information technology, and supervision of instructional budgets.
He was named interim president June 1, 2009, and served in that capacity until Jeffrey Herbst assumed his duties as Colgate’s 16th president July 1, 2010.
“Berea College has made a wise choice in naming Lyle to its presidency,” said Herbst. “Lyle’s professional and personal passions mesh extremely well with the college’s mission. While we at Colgate will miss him and his wife, Laurie, we wish them both the very best in their new academic adventure.”
Roelofs will become Berea’s ninth president, succeeding Larry D. Shinn, who will retire June 30, 2012.
“I am very honored to have been elected as Berea College’s ninth president,” Roelofs said. “I have great admiration for Berea’s historic and continuing identity as an interracial, coeducational institution; for its enduring focus on the Appalachian region; and for educating talented students who have economic need. ”
Roelofs is a graduate of Calvin College with a BS with honors in physics and mathematics. He earned MS and PhD degrees, both in physics, at the University of Maryland and has more than 35 years experience in teaching and research at the University of Maryland, Calvin College, Brown University, Haverford College, and Colgate. Before coming to Colgate, he also had served as associate provost at Haverford.
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