Joyner Leaving, Saint Xavier University Begins Search For President

CHICAGO — Saint Xavier University will begin a search for a new president after a Wisconsin Catholic college announced that Laurie Joyner will be taking over its top administrative spot this summer.

St. Norbert College announced on Friday that it has appointed Joyner as its president. Joyner has served as the president at Saint Xavier since 2017 and will become the first woman to serve as St. Norbert’s president in the school’s 125-year history, the school said.

Joyner replaces Thomas Kunkel, who had served in the role as president at St. Norbert for the past year on an interim basis.

“The college’s rich Catholic, Norbertine tradition and deep commitment to the liberal arts is powerful in preparing graduates for lives of meaning, leadership, and service,” Joyner said in a news release issued by the school last week. “SNC is a well-respected college based on its reputation of academic excellence, engaged students, an abundance of faculty and staff talent, a strong sense of community, and successful graduates who maintain strong connections with the college.”

Joyner will begin in her new role at St. Norbert on July 12 and was introduced as the school’s new president in a ceremony on Friday in De Pere, Wis.

Prior to St. Xavier, Joyner served as president of Wittenberg University in Ohio and in multiple vice presidential and dean roles at Rollins College in Florida.

“Dr. Joyner brings a wealth of presidential experience to St. Norbert College,” Fred Schmidt, chair of the college’s board of trustees said in a news release. “More importantly, she possesses the skill, passion, and values that the college needs in its next leader.”

Saint Xavier officials said in a news release on Monday that they will begin the process of establishing a plan for a seamless transition of leadership that builds on the past six years of "impressive results" under Joyner.

“The University is deeply grateful to President Joyner for her more than six years of accomplished leadership during incredibly challenging institutional circumstances. SXU is a much stronger institution today because of her integrity, moral courage, commitment to inclusive excellence, and results-oriented leadership," SXU Board Chair Tasha Henderson said in a news release. "The Board of Trustees is thankful for SXU’s current momentum and is pleased that President Joyner will continue advancing liberal learning within Catholic higher education."

Under Joyner's leadership, school officials said that the SXU community collaborated to achieve much, including expanding mission integration efforts; adding new academic programs; focusing sustained attention on educational quality, expanding athletic offerings, enrolling five of the largest first-year classes in institutional history

The school also improved retention for four consecutive years, created a more data-driven, performance-based culture; and broadened opportunities for shared governance. Joyner also advanced SXU’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts, allowing the University to secure substantial external funding to expand wraparound services for students and advance equity-minded practices, the SXU news release said.

Joyner and her husband, Jay Joyner, have three sons: Jay, Alexander, and Christopher.

“I am looking forward to collaboratively building on the extraordinary accomplishments of the college, and to becoming fully engaged in the De Pere and Green Bay communities,” Joyner said.