ATLANTA - Warren Jobe, Chair of the Board of Trustees and Belle Turner Lynch '61, Chair-Elect, announced today that Lawrence Schall, J.D. Ed.D. will become the 16th President of Oglethorpe University on July 1, 2005. Dr. Schall is currently Vice President for Administration at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and co-Director of the Executive Doctorate Program in Higher Education Management at the University of Pennsylvania. Schall succeeds Dr. Larry D. Large who announced his retirement last October.

Dr. Schall expressed his excitement at the opportunity ahead: "Oglethorpe is an extraordinary institution with a long, rich past and a brilliant future. That future rests on a resolute commitment to connect students who come to Oglethorpe with a passion for learning and a belief that they can make a difference in the world. We will realize this mission with a faculty second to none in its ability to teach, transform and prepare young men and women to be citizens of the world. Nothing is more important for America today than to produce broadly educated citizens who will participate fully in their communities, and no education is better suited to that purpose than one grounded in the liberal arts. An Oglethorpe education teaches one to be both versatile and courageous."

Schall holds his undergraduate degree from Swarthmore and his Juris Doctor and Ed. D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a former civil rights lawyer who returned to his alma mater fourteen years ago. At Swarthmore, he has been involved in almost every area of university management including admissions, strategic planning and capital projects, student affairs, community relations and fund raising.

Belle Turner Lynch '61, head of the 10-member presidential search committee and Chair Elect of the Board, announced the appointment following a board meeting Friday. "Larry Schall will bring great leadership and energy to Oglethorpe and Atlanta. He has proven himself to be an experienced educational administrator who has been a key part of a winning team that has catapulted Swarthmore to the forefront of liberal arts institutions in this country."

The presidential search committee - composed of trustees, alumni, faculty, staff, and a student representative - worked with the executive search firm of Witt/Kieffer. Its task was to initiate an extensive, national search that resulted in fourteen personal interviews. The top three candidates and their spouses came to Atlanta for two-day interviews with members of the entire campus community.

Last fall Oglethorpe welcomed one of the largest incoming freshmen classes in history. A $10 million residence hall serving 160 students is currently under construction and due to be completed in August 2005.

Oglethorpe and Swarthmore are both members of the Annapolis Group, an organization of the leading liberal arts colleges across the country. Oglethorpe is also part of the Atlanta Regional Consortium for Higher Education (ARCHE), which is made up of 19 Atlanta colleges and universities and the University of Georgia.

"Belle and Warren have brought a great leader to Oglethorpe and everyone associated with the university is thrilled that Larry Schall will become the next president," stated Larry Large, current president.

Schall and his wife, Betty Londergan, a writer, have four children.