Sally Coleman Selden has been named the twelfth president of the University of Lynchburg in Virginia. She will succeed the university’s current president, Allison Morrison-Shetlar, who is slated to retire on June 30.
The University of Lynchburg enrolls about 1,600 undergraduates and 700 graduate students, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education. Women represent 57 percent of the undergraduate student body.
Dr. Selden’s appointment marks a return to the University of Lynchburg, where she previously taught for 18 years. During her initial tenure at the university, she served in several key leadership roles, including director of the MBA program, chair of the management department, faculty chair, director of the master’s degree program in nonprofit leadership studies, associate provost, and provost. Currently, Dr. Selden is provost and dean of the college at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina.
As a scholar, Dr. Selden focuses on nonprofit management, human resources management, and leadership studies. In addition to numerous scholarly articles, she is the author of Human Capital: Tools and Strategies for the Public Sector (CQ Press, 2008).
“The University of Lynchburg holds a special place in my heart, and I am honored to return as its next president,” said Dr. Selden. “I believe deeply in the power of this community — its people, its values, and its mission — and I am excited to work together to support our students, invest in our faculty and staff, and build momentum for the university’s next chapter.”
Dr. Selden received her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from the University of Virginia and her Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.