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Dec. 6, 2006
BETHANY COLLEGE PRESIDENT SEEKS NEW CALLING
LINDSBORG, Kan. -- The Bethany College board chair has received, with deep regret, the resignation of Paul K. Formo, 12th president of Bethany College.
Formo will serve as college president through the fall semester, which ends next week. He will continue to assist college administrators and staff until an interim president is appointed, transitioning out of active management by the end of January. Formo will be available to assist the interim president as needed.
After serving as Bethany College president for five years, Formo said he is leaving to explore new challenges and opportunities. “I look forward to soon having some time for rest, reflection and discernment…and trust that from that will come a new calling,” Formo wrote to the board.
In his letter of resignation, Formo thanked the board of directors for the privilege of serving as president of the college. “I am deeply grateful for the opportunity and for the tremendous support I have had from the board,” Formo wrote.
“We are deeply appreciative for what Paul Formo has done for Bethany College. Because we value his leadership, his insight and counsel will be greatly missed,” said Tad Doering, Bethany board chair.
“As much as we regret his decision, we also respect it. We wish him and his family all the best,” Doering said.
Doering said the executive committee of the board would meet this week to plan the search process.
“Bethany’s management structures, strategies, fiscal health, endowment, donor support, reputation – all are stronger now than they were five years ago. We are in an even better position now to find a capable president to lead our college. I’m looking forward to the process,” Doering said.
Paul Formo began his tenure as Bethany president July 1, 2001. Since then, the college has celebrated its 125th anniversary with world-class speakers and events, added seven new majors, and balanced the annual operating budget four of the last five years. During Formo’s tenure, the college endowment has grown by 33 percent to more than $25 million. Last fiscal year, the college raised $1.1 million in unrestricted annual funds — the college’s highest in that category ever. In 2004, the college closed a successful capital campaign, raising more than $8 million over three years.
As Bethany’s president, Formo has served on many regional and national boards related to the welfare of the college and community, including those of the Sandzén Gallery, Associated Colleges of Central Kansas, Lutheran Planned Giving Services of Arkansas-Oklahoma and Central States Synods, Swedish Council of America, Smoky Valley Development Corporation, National Intercollegiate Athletic Association marketing committee, Lutheran Educational Conference of North America and the International Chess Institute of the Midwest.
Formo was born in Minneapolis, Minn., in 1947 and graduated from Osseo high school in Osseo, Minnesota. In 1969 he earned a Bachelor of Arts in music from Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. He earned a Master of Arts in music in 1974 and a Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting in 1976 from the University of Iowa.
Early in his career he served in a variety of musical positions at Eastern New Mexico University, the University of Texas, William Penn College and the University of Iowa. During his musical career he produced several music publications and papers. He has remained active in community musical and service organizations throughout his career.
From 1985 to 1993 he served as a music professor and dean of the conservatory of music at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. In 1993 he moved to Dana College to serve as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college, which ultimately evolved into the position as Provost.
Bethany College, established by Swedish Lutheran immigrants in 1881, is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The mission of Bethany College is to nurture and challenge individuals in their search for truth and meaning as they lead lives of faith, learning and service.
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