Vice President of Enrollment Rich Dunsworth (right) has been named interim president for Millikin following the recent retirement of President Harold Jeffcoat.
“After 37 years in higher education, including my 13 years as a university president, both [my wife] Marie and I felt it was time for a change,” said President Jeffcoat. “Millikin needs to have in place a long-term president. I am at retirement age, and now is a good time for the board to recruit a new president."
"This is a good thing for us and for Millikin," he continued. "We wish Millikin students, faculty and staff all the best and thank them for the opportunity to serve Millikin in the last few years.”
Dunsworth, who has served a total of 22 years at Millikin, will serve as interim president for three months. During that time, he will work in conjunction with the Millikin board of trustees to identify an acting president to lead the University for approximately 12 to 18 months while a national search for the next president is conducted.
The 65-year-old Jeffcoat had served as Millikin’s president since April 2011 after previously retiring from Texas Wesleyan University.