Hired
Dr. Stuart R. Bell — University of Florida
A presidential search committee named Bell—who led the University of Alabama for 10 years—the sole finalist to become Florida’s 14th president. Bell must next be confirmed by the University of Florida board of trustees and the Florida Board of Governors.
Bell’s nomination comes just less than a year after the board of governors blocked former University of Michigan leader Santa Ono from becoming Florida’s president.
While at Alabama, Bell was also president of the Southeastern Conference from 2023-2025. He previously served as provost and professor of engineering at Louisiana State University and dean of the School of Engineering and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Kansas.
Mung Chiang – Northwestern University (Illinois)
Northwestern also looked to a neighbor within its athletic conference for its new leader, hiring President Mung Chiang away from Purdue University.
Chiang, a renowned national science advisor and researcher, first arrived at Purdue University in 2017 as dean of the College of Engineering. He was appointed executive vice president for strategic initiatives in 2021, and president in 2022.
Chiang is credited with expanding research activity to over $1 billion and advancing major technology, health and business initiatives. He is also known for supporting students and faculty, and championing free expression, Northwestern said in its announcement.
Chiang succeeds Michael Schill, who stepped down in September 2025.
Peter Rodriguez — Wake Forest University (N.C.)
Rodriguez, the dean of Rice University’s School of Business and a renowned economist, takes the helm at Wake Forest on July 1.
Rodriguez has decades of expertise in international trade, economic history and public finance. He raiaed the profile for Rice’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business and launched the Virani Undergraduate School of Business.
He also doubled MBA enrollment, increased the number of tenure-track faculty by more than 40% and introduced Rice’s first online graduate degree. He previously served as professor, senior associate dean for MBA programs and chief diversity officer for the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. He worked for several years as an associate in the Global Energy Group at JPMorgan Chase.
Mike Reese — McNeese State University (La.)
Reese is a Louisiana state senator who is also managing partner and CEO of the Reese Companies, which operates in transportation, logistics, aviation and commercial real estate. He has served on the Louisiana Board of Regents and the Louisiana Student Financial Assistance Commission.
Karlyn Crowley — Kalamazoo College (Mich.)
Crowley is provost at Ohio Wesleyan University, where she spearheaded the first comprehensive general education revision in 50 years and established a university-wide faculty development center. She also launched new programs in public health, entrepreneurship and nursing.
She has also worked with the Constructive Dialogue Institute to foster civil discourse on campus and oversaw the introduction of mechanical engineering at Ohio Wesleyan’s new Conrades School of Engineering.
Retiring
Elizabeth Davis — Furman University (S.C.)
Davis, who became Furman University’s first female president in 2014, will retire at the end of the 2026-27 academic year.
She has launched several major initiatives at the 200-year-old university, including The Furman Advantage, which guarantees students a personalized, four-year pathway that comprises classroom learning, research, internships, study away, community-engaged experiences and faculty mentorship. The Cleary Furman fundraising campaign for the university’s third century has surpassed its $426 million goal and is on track to raise more than $500 million when it ends in June.
She has also led the school in reckoning with its ties to slavery and worked to create a culture of civil discourse on campus.
Elizabeth A. Rider — Elizabethtown College (Pa.)
Rider will retire in June 2027 after 40 years at the college, where she began her career in 1988 as a professor of psychology and has served as president since 2022.
Rider has strengthened the institution academically, financially and culturally while advancing strategic priorities focused on student success, enrollment growth, academic innovation and long-term sustainability, the college said in a statement. The school has achieved record enrollment and exceeded fundraising goals while its endowment surpassed $100 million.
Stepping down
Cathy Sandeen — California State University, East Bay
Sandeen, the university’s sixth president who has served in the role since 2021, will leave her post at the end of 2026. Sandeen strengthened enrollment, elevated the university’s brand identity, revitalized campus pride and advanced a clearer sense of the school’s role in the San Francisco Bay region, California State University said in an announcement.
Dr. Adrien Bennings — Portland Community College (Ore.)
Bennings has reached a mutual separation agreement to step down at the end of the fiscal year in June. She had been president since 2022, and previously led Kellogg Community College in Michigan.
In Portland, she aligned the college’s curriculum with workforce needs and championed student success programs.
Financial outlook: Cuts and hiring freezes spread as spring semester closes
