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U.Va.-Wise
Chancellor Finalist for Susquehanna University Presidency
Sept.
18, 2000 -- L. Jay Lemons, chancellor of The
University of Virginia's College at Wise, today announced to
faculty, staff and students that he is a finalist for the presidency
of Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Penn.
Lemons
will spend Sept. 18-20 in interviews at Susquehanna University.
The governing board of Susquehanna University is expected to meet
to select the institution’s next president within the next three
weeks. "Susquehanna University is an institution that shares many
of the characteristics and values we prize here at UVa-Wise," Lemons
told the group. "It is one of only a handful of American institutions
that could possibly lure us away from a campus and a region we love
and consider home."
A private
undergraduate institution with 1,650 students, Susquehanna University
is the top regional liberal arts college in the North, according
to U.S. News and World Report. Founded in 1858, the university is
affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Chancellor
of U.Va.-Wise since 1992, Lemons came to the College after serving
as chief of staff in the office of U.Va. President John T. Casteen,
III. During his tenure, Lemons has directed a variety of important
projects including the College’s 1999 name change. Founded in 1954
as Clinch Valley College of the University of Virginia, the College
became The University of Virginia's College at Wise on July 1, 1999.
Other achievements under Lemons’ leadership include recruitment
of a more talented student body through the implementation of a
selective admissions policy, increased faculty salaries, and development
of a comprehensive student life program. The College is nearing
completion of its first-ever capital campaign, which will total
in excess of $18 million, well ahead of initial projections.
U.Va.-Wise
is in the midst of a dramatic change to its campus with the completed
expansion and renovation of John Cook Wyllie Library and the addition
of the Commonwealth Hall classroom building. During the next two
years, a student center will be constructed on campus and the Science
Building will be enlarged and renovated. A new 140-bed residence
hall will open later this year. Last September, the College launched
WISE-FM, the first public radio station in far Southwest Virginia.
Ranked
second among the South’s public liberal arts colleges by U.S. News
and World Report, U.Va.-Wise is home to 1,500 students. The College
offers undergraduate and pre-professional programs in the liberal
arts tradition of Thomas Jefferson.
For
more information, contact Jane Meade-Dean in the Office of College
Relations at 540-328-0130 or via e-mail at jmeade-dean@virginia.edu.
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