Averett University, which has been consumed by financial problems for the past year, announced Friday that it has selected a new president, just two weeks after former president David Joyce announced his resignation.
Thomas Powell will be installed as the university’s president May 1, taking over for interim president Venita Mitchell, according to a news release from Averett. Mitchell will return to her role as vice president of student engagement.
Powell will be Averett’s third president in three months.
He “comes to Averett with a wealth of experience in the world of higher education,” the release says.
Most recently, Powell was interim president of Frederick Community College in Frederick, Maryland. He also led Mount Saint Mary’s University in Maryland from 2003 to 2015. Before that, Powell was president of Glenville State University in West Virginia, where he is credited with starting the school’s first annual fund program and increasing its endowment.
Powell and his wife live in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
“I am particularly impressed with Averett’s programs in nursing, aviation, business, hospitality and the liberal arts, and Averett’s Baptist foundation has a special attraction for me,” Powell said in the release.
Joyce was named president in December after Tiffany Franks, who had led the university since 2008, stepped down. Joyce announced his resignation April 11 due to a medical diagnosis his wife received.
Averett came under scrutiny last year when Franks revealed that financial mismanagement had led to a budget deficit. The university instituted summer furlough days for employees, phased out several academic programs and put several properties up for sale, including the president’s house and the university’s equestrian center.
Earlier this month, the university filed suit against its former chief financial officer and an investment firm that the school claims colluded to hide the budget problems.
Dan Carlton, chair of Averett’s board of trustees, said that Powell is “the right choice for the university” in the release.
“Though this search and appointment came upon us quickly, I know that it has yielded an outstanding and experienced individual to lead Averett University into the future,” Carlton said.
