Dr. Elizabeth Mauch will serve Bethany College through December 31, 2023
By Bethany College
LINDSBORG, Kan. — The Board of Trustees of the Vermont State Colleges System announced today that Dr. Elizabeth Mauch will assume the position of system Chancellor, effective January 1, 2024. Dr. Mauch has served as President of Bethany College, where she was previously the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College. During her tenure at Bethany, she launched a collaborative strategic plan, campus master plan, and vision to lead the college through 2026. Additionally, she raised a remarkable $32 million for building renovations, programming, and a strategic enrollment campaign, including funding named scholarships and endowed professorships. She will continue in her current role at Bethany until December 31, 2023.
“We express our sincere gratitude to President Mauch for her dedicated leadership at Bethany over the past five plus years and extend our heartfelt best wishes as she embarks on her new role in the Vermont State Colleges system,” stated Board Chair, Dr. Cheryl Rasmussen. “We are confident that the Bethany community will continue its dedication to meeting the needs of our students, guiding them as they navigate their individual paths toward their purpose.”
Reflecting on her tenure, Dr. Mauch shared her deep appreciation for the college’s community – the faculty, staff, and particularly the students, who have been central to her experience. “Leading Bethany College for over five years has been a profound honor. The college’s commitment to a robust liberal arts education, coupled with our focus on experiential learning, has been a cornerstone of my leadership. It has been fulfilling to guide our students towards not only academic success but also meaningful lives and careers post-graduation,” Dr. Mauch remarked. She added, “Bethany College was more than a workplace; it was a community where I could contribute to something greater than myself. This community has embraced my contributions, fostering connections that I will always cherish.” As Dr. Mauch moves forward, she carries with her the memories and achievements of her time at Bethany College, leaving behind a legacy of dedication and passion.
The Bethany Board of Directors is actively engaged in selecting an interim president who will be announced by December 31, 2023. “The individual stepping into this interim role will be a trusted collaborator for Bethany stakeholders, including the Lindsborg community, guiding us seamlessly as we initiate a comprehensive and inclusive search for the next president of Bethany College,” remarked Rasmussen.
Bethany College, established by Swedish Lutheran immigrants in 1881, is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. The mission of Bethany College is to educate, develop and challenge individuals to reach for truth and excellence as they lead lives of faith, learning and service. Bethany College is online at bethanylb.edu.
Vermont State College Board of Trustees Announcement of Hiring Dr. Mauch as Chancellor
By Vermont State Colleges System
MONTPELIER, VT — The Board of Trustees of the Vermont State Colleges announces that Dr. Elizabeth Mauch will become the next Chancellor of the system effective January 1, 2024. The Vermont State Colleges system, comprised of Community College of Vermont and Vermont State University, is Vermont’s rural public higher education system and, in partnership with the state, is undergoing a multiyear transformation and modernization. Dr. Mauch will be joining the system to lead the next phase of transformation, building on the foundational work of outgoing Chancellor Sophie Zdatny.
Dr. Mauch is currently serving as president of Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, where she previously served as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College. During her tenure at Bethany, she launched a collaborative strategic plan, campus master plan, and vision to lead the college through 2026. Additionally, she raised a remarkable $32 million for building renovations, programming, and a strategic enrollment campaign, including funding named scholarships and endowed professorships.
Dr. Mauch brings rural public higher education system experience to her new role, including her service from 2009 to 2017 as Dean of the College of Education at Bloomsburg University, part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. While there, she launched the McDowell Institute for Teacher Excellence in Positive Behavior Support securing the largest gift the university had received at that time. She also launched the Regional STEM Education Center in collaboration with faculty, regional school districts, and business leaders. In addition, Dr. Mauch served as a professor of mathematics at Bloomsburg University.
Dr. Mauch received her Masters and Ph.D. in Mathematics from Lehigh University and her undergraduate degree in mathematics from Moravian College. At Moravian, she also completed the requirements necessary to receive her Instructional I Teaching Certificate from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Dr. Mauch also completed a professional development program at the Institute for Management and Leadership Education at Harvard University. In 2022, she received the Benigna Education Award from Moravian College in recognition of her service to higher education.
Dr. Mauch currently sits on the Executive Committee of the Presidents’ Council of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Council (KCAC) and is a board member of the Birger Sandzén Memorial Art Gallery. In May and June 2019, Dr. Mauch served as a Fulbright Specialist in Poland where she taught and collaborated with science and engineering faculty at Łódź University of Technology in Łódź, Poland on the topic of flipped classrooms.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Elizabeth Mauch to lead the next chapter of the Vermont State Colleges’ transformation,” said Lynn Dickinson, Chair of the Vermont State Colleges’ Board of Trustees. “Dr. Mauch is joining us at a critical time in this work as we build on the sound plans laid to date to achieve financial sustainability across the system. She has impressive experience in bringing strategic and visionary approaches to leadership that will be essential in steering the Vermont State Colleges forward into the next chapter of transformation. The Board is confident in Dr. Mauch’s ability to implement ongoing progress and secure continued support of system-wide transformation.”
Dr. Mauch looks forward to joining the Vermont State Colleges in the new year. She plans to move to her family’s home in Cornwall, Vermont with her husband James. Their daughter is an undergraduate student at Middlebury College.
Mauch notes, “I am excited and honored to lead the next phase of the Vermont State Colleges System’s transformation. This is a critical time to shape the future of public higher and continuing education in Vermont, as higher education rapidly evolves and changes across the country. I look forward to collaborating with state and community leaders, our institutions and their teams, and our faculty, staff, and students to build a thriving Vermont State Colleges system that continues to transform lives and communities across the state.”
The Chancellor of the Vermont State Colleges exercises broad fiduciary responsibility for the system, including the strategic leadership of the corporation, which is comprised of two institutions, over 2,000 employees, nearly 20,000 students and workforce development learners, and campuses and academic learning sites across Vermont. Additionally, as Chancellor. Dr. Mauch will be the strategic leader of system transformation with responsibility for state and federal government relations, implementation of board policies and procedures, and broad oversight of the academic, financial, and business affairs of the system. The Chancellor supervises and supports the Presidents and works closely with the Boad of Trustees to accomplish their shared goals.
About the Vermont State Colleges System
For the benefit of Vermont, the Vermont State Colleges System provides affordable, high quality, student-centered, and accessible education, fully integrating professional, liberal, and career study, consistent with student aspirations and regional and state needs. The Vermont State Colleges System includes the Community College of Vermont and Vermont State University. Learn more at www.vsc.edu.
