ASHLAND — Jon Parrish Peede, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, has been selected to take over as president of Ashland University, beginning June 1.
The university announced Peede’s selection for the position in a press release Wednesday morning.
Peede was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate to his position as chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities in April 2018. He was nominated for that position by former President Donald Trump.
“He has been a faculty member, fundraiser, public speaker, fiscally sound manager and strategic communicator,” Ashland University’s release stated.
The release also stated that Peede has previously been to Ashland University. He formerly served as a visiting faculty member of the school’s master of fine arts in creative writing program.
Peede’s most recent position was with Mississippi Valley State University as a writer in residence, according to his website.
Peede’s goals
Peede told Ashland Source on Wednesday he wasn’t looking for a new position when he applied to be president of AU. But, he said, something about the opportunity stuck with him.
“I felt drawn to it in a way that I really haven’t experienced spiritually before,” Peede said. “I really do think of it as less of a job and more of a blessing.”
Peede said his experience on the national level will “make a difference in terms of attracting students, faculty and media to let them know the great work that is going on on campus.”
For him, the comprehensiveness of the institution felt appealing. Peede said the liberal arts are essential to informing the country’s citizens, but said AU brings together other points of view in harmony, too.
He named the graduate school, Ashbrook program and seminary as examples.
Peede said he hopes his first months at the school consist of a lot of listening to students and faculty on campus.
He said that he wants to have conversations around enrollment and “how we make sure that we’re making a great case for the university in the state, in the region and across the nation.”
Peede said part of those conversations will include recognizing and emphasizing efforts that have already been achieved on campus. He cited the campus beautification projects led under current AU president Carlos Campo as an example.
Peede also described his approach as an educator as “student-centered,” and aims to continue with that approach in his tenure as president.
“There’s so much pressure on university presidents to be off-campus, meeting with donors and meeting with civic leaders, that sometimes you can lose sight of the reason you’re doing it all, and that’s for the students,” Peede said.
What did the search process look like?
Peede will replace AU’s current president, Campo, who announced his intent to depart the school last August. Campo begins a new position as CEO of the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., June 17.
AU selected a search firm, Academic Search, to head the search for its new president in November.
The school officially published a presidential prospectus on its website and began accepting applications for the position in December, according to previous Ashland Source reporting.
According to the school’s presidential search website, it conducted two rounds of interviews with its top candidates as of Feb. 19. The release from the university Wednesday stated over 60 candidates applied for the position as AU’s new president.
Gregory McBrayer, the faculty senate president at AU and faculty representative on the search committee, said faculty has shared “pleasant surprise and excitement for a candidate with (Peede’s) range of experience.”
He added the board made an “excellent” decision.
“On behalf of faculty, I am committed to working with the board and administration to help the incoming president succeed,” McBrayer stated.
