DE PERE, WI (WTAQ) – The president of St. Norbert College says he will retire from the school on May 31, 2017.
In an announcement Thursday, Thomas Kunkel says he wants to spend more time with his family.
“Deb and I have two grandchildren and another on the way in January,” said Kunkel. “Then, on the other end of the family spectrum, my parents back in southern Indiana are in their 80’s. So we find ourselves seeking more and more family time.”
As for the timing, Kunkel says that his arrangement with the college’s Board of Trustees was to give them a two-year notice of his intention to retire, if at all possible. This announcement fulfills that promise, while allowing the board enough time to find a new leader.
During his tenure at St. Norbert College, Kunkel has overseen the construction and renovation of more than $100 million in campus facilities and infrastructure, including the Gehl-Mulva Science Center and its South Teaching Wing; Michels Commons; Schneider Stadium; the Mulva Library; Gries Hall; the Ariens Family Welcome Center; Todd Wehr Hall; Dudley Birder Hall; and the Cassandra Voss Center.
Student enrollment has reached record levels on his watch, as has the academic profile of its student body. And this fall’s incoming class is the most ethnically diverse in school history.
But Kunkel says there’s still plenty to do.
“Maybe the single biggest priority is to continue to grow scholarships to make more money available to our students to keep the St. Norbert experience as affordable as possible,” said Kunkel.
Kunkel, who recently published the critically acclaimed biography “Man in Profile: Joseph Mitchell of The New Yorker,” will continue his writing career after the presidency, and he intends for his first project to be a “short and accessible” biography of the college’s namesake and patron, St. Norbert of Xanten.
