Elizabeth Paul, Ph.D., Named Nazareth College’s 10th President

Nazareth College's Board of Trustees has announced Elizabeth "Beth" L. Paul, Ph.D., as Nazareth's 10th president. Currently finishing her tenure as president of Capital University, Paul will take office on July 1. Nazareth College Board Chair Tim Fournier introduced her at a community-wide event today in the Glazer Music Performance Center.

The leader of choice following an extensive national search, Paul will succeed current President Daan Braveman after he completes a successful 15-year tenure as Nazareth's longest serving president. Braveman was inaugurated in 2005 and will be stepping down in June.

"Nazareth College is poised in an enviable position of stability and forward momentum as we enter 2020," said Nazareth Board of Trustees Chairman Timothy Fournier, chairman and CEO of Conifer Realty, LLC. "Nazareth has found the ideal president able to carry on the College's strong leadership. Dr. Paul will build on Nazareth's strengths of academic reputation, student success and retention, and strong career preparation, while focusing on fostering a community of belonging."

Paul comes to Nazareth with an impressive career as a leader in higher education. Since July 2016, she's served as the 16th president of Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, and previously spent seven years as the senior academic officer at Stetson University in Central Florida.
"We are incredibly pleased that Paul is joining the Nazareth community," said Brian E. Hickey, chairman of the presidential search committee and a Nazareth board member. "We knew right away that she understands Nazareth's mission and our vision for the future. I'm excited to see how Beth's passion for experiential learning and Nazareth's belief in educating our students to make a difference in their own world and the world around them will connect with students, faculty, and staff. She has the skills to lead Nazareth confidently into a new era for the College. I'm honored to have been part of this process."

"What a joy and honor to join the Nazareth community!" Paul said. "I have been inspired by Nazareth College for many years, and hold President Braveman in high regard. It is, therefore, very special to me to have this opportunity to lead Nazareth at this vital time. I am grateful to, and energized by, the many students, faculty, staff, alumni and trustees who contributed to the search process. I am eager to get to know the people who make Nazareth such an exceptional learning community, and to begin our work together to ensure Nazareth's flourishing future."

Under Paul's leadership, Capital University developed a visionary strategic framework to guide the University forward, including expansion of experiential learning and community partnerships, and the deepening of a learning community that values and supports student originality and belonging. While at Capital University, Paul saw the University's largest entering undergraduate class in the institution's 190-year history. She led the launch of the Good Guarantee Scholarship for undergraduates whose families have chosen mission-centered careers through nonprofit and public-service work. The scholarship program was designed to increase awareness of the University and to support lower- to middle-income families who too often think private higher education is not accessible to them. The innovative scholarship program has gained local, regional, and national attention.

Along with championing access and success for those traditionally underserved by higher education,  Paul considers it a moral imperative of higher education to actively partner in innovation, ideas and learning approaches that extend beyond established boundaries to build community capacity and tackle social challenges. She is an engineer of neighborhood-based community-engaged and experiential learning programs, local and global, garnering national recognition.

Prior to her work at Capital University, she served at Stetson University since 2009. First as provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, and then in 2015, as provost and executive vice president. She was also a tenured professor of psychology. She was vice provost and professor of psychology at The College of New Jersey from 1992-2009.

Well-known as a thought leader on learning innovation, strategic planning, and building inclusive communities, Paul has held national leadership roles in key higher education initiatives, including undergraduate research. She was president of the Council on Undergraduate Research, and currently serves on the board of directors of the National Association of College and University Business Officers, the Council of Independent Colleges, and serves as Treasurer of the Bonner Foundation Board of Trustees.

Paul holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and a doctorate in personality psychology, both from Boston University. She did a pre-doctoral training fellowship with the National Institute of Mental Health, and earned a certificate in higher education administration from Harvard Institute for Educational Management.

Paul's family includes her husband, William Ball, Ph.D., a political science professor, and daughters Martha and Sophie.

Paul's official inauguration as Nazareth's 10th president is tentatively scheduled for September 17, 2020.

Nazareth University is an inclusive community of inspired learners, educators, and changemakers who for nearly 100 years have been driven by a bold commitment to action, empathy, equity, and leading innovation for the common good. Impact experiences are at the heart of a Nazareth education, preparing each student to discover within themselves the potential to cultivate positive change in their life's work, in any career field, and in a world that is constantly evolving and infinitely interconnected.

Our broad academic offerings present a range of study options typical of larger universities, yet achieved in our supportive campus culture. Nearly 2,100 undergrad and 600 graduate students enroll in degree and certificate programs and engage in collaborative, transformative learning experiences, preparing for the professions and society of today and tomorrow. In a learning community that purposefully integrates liberal arts and professional programs, Nazareth University graduates are able to launch a lifetime of impactful leadership in communities and workplaces near and far.

• published: 2020 January
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