The board of trustees of Saint Xavier University in Chicago has unanimously voted to select Laurie M. Joyner as the educational institution’s 20th president. She will begin her new job on January 1. The university, with roots going back to 1847, enrolls about 3,000 undergraduate students and 1,000 graduate students. Women make up two thirds of the undergraduate student body.
In accepting the post, Dr. Joyner said that “I am deeply honored to serve as the next president of Saint Xavier University. I am looking forward to working with such an extraordinary learning community to build upon the university’s Mercy heritage and impressive 170-year history of providing high quality, person-centered education in Chicago.”
Dr. Joyner served as the president of Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, from 2012 to 2015. Prior to joining Wittenberg in 2012, Dr. Joyner served in a number of senior administrative positions, including provost, at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.
Dr. Joyner is a magna cum laude graduate of Loyola University in New Orleans. She earned master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology from Tulane University in New Orleans.