Dr. Gary L. Wirt was selected as the 13th President of Goldey-Beacom College by the Board of Trustees at their June meeting. He was designated President-Elect and will succeed Dr. Mohammad Ilyas who will retire at the end of the 2014-15 fiscal year, following 40 years at the college; 18 as president.
Wirt is Vice President for External Affairs with responsibility for development, alumni relations, student affairs, admissions, and public relations.
He first joined the college as an adjunct faculty member in 1973, later earning the rank of Professor, In 1988, he joined the College full-time as Dean of Students, becoming Vice President for Student Affairs in 1989. From 1997 to the present, he has served as Vice President for External Affairs and on the Executive Council of the College. Before joining the College full-time, Wirt worked n mental health, and served as the Executive Director of the Mental Health Association of Delaware.
Wirt is credited with leading the College through three regional accreditation visits, and obtaining first time specialized accreditation from ACBSP and IACBE. He was the architect of the college’s move away from its “business only” curriculum to include new degrees in psychology, criminal justice, economics, and English. He led fundraising efforts that resulted in the $4.5 million expansion of the Joseph West Jones College Center, expanded endowed scholarships, and funded campus technology enhancements and a four-fold library growth. He crafted the College’s Emergency Management Plan, and built mechanisms for tracking and recording measures of student satisfaction.
In announcing his appointment, Chair of the Board of Trustees, E. Thomas Harvey III, remarked, “Gary brings such extensive experience on so many fronts – fundraising, curriculum development, student affairs, and accreditation. He has a strong regional and national perspective on education through his work with the Commission on Higher Education, yet best understands the challenges and opportunities on his own home campus. The Board was extremely fortunate to have such a strong internal candidate who can provide a seamless transition in the days ahead.”
Wirt said, “I am excited and honored by the confidence the Trustees have placed in me. I will be at the helm of a school that has a growing endowment, decades without a year-end deficit, high student satisfaction, and a full-time faculty with the highest degrees in their field. But, I also understand the many opportunities just within our grasp as an institution. While our graduate programs have the highest enrollment in our history, we must find new ways to open the doors to more undergraduate applicants who find finances difficult. We need to make a renewed effort at bolstering retention. Being at the national average for retention should not be good enough for us; we need to build mechanisms to retain students who can do the work, but who dropout for personal or social reasons. Most important, I want to make sure we further strengthen our tradition of strong student services and a supportive atmosphere – they have been the cornerstones of our 128-year success. One of my first challenges will be to re-focus our strategic plan to ensure affordability, personal support, and even stronger retention on the undergraduate level.”
Wirt completed his undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his master degree in Psychology from Washington College, and his doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Sarasota.
He is a resident of Old New Castle and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Founded in 1886, the College offers graduate and undergraduate degrees with majors in psychology, economics, criminal justice, English, and all areas of business. With students from 26 states, and 66 nations, Goldey-Beacom College is located in Pike Creek Valley.
