UVa-Wise Chancellor Finalist for Susquehanna University Presidency
September 15, 2000

L. Jay Lemons, chancellor of The University of Virginia's College at Wise, today announced to faculty, staff and students that he is a finalist for the presidency of Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Penn.

Lemons will spend Sept. 18-20 in interviews at Susquehanna University. The governing board of Susquehanna University is expected to meet to select the institution's next president within the next three weeks.

"Susquehanna University is an institution that shares many of the characteristics and values we prize here at UVa-Wise," Lemons told the group. "It is one of only a handful of American institutions that could possibly lure us away from a campus and a region we love and consider home."

A private undergraduate institution with 1,650 students, Susquehanna University is the top regional liberal arts college in the North, according to U.S. News and World Report. Founded in 1858, the university is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Chancellor of UVa-Wise since 1992, Lemons came to the College after serving as chief of staff in the office of U.Va. President John T. Casteen, III. During his tenure, Lemons has directed a variety of important projects including the College's 1999 name change. Founded in 1954 as Clinch Valley College of the University of Virginia, the College became The University of Virginia's College at Wise on July 1, 1999.

Other achievements under Lemons' leadership include recruitment of a more talented student body through the implementation of a selective admissions policy, increased faculty salaries, and development of a comprehensive student life program. The College is nearing completion of its first-ever capital campaign, which will total in excess of $18 million, well ahead of initial projections.

UVa-Wise is in the midst of a dramatic change to its campus with the completed expansion and renovation of John Cook Wyllie Library and the addition of the Commonwealth Hall classroom building. During the next two years, a student center will be constructed on campus and the Science Building will be enlarged and renovated. A new 140-bed residence hall will open later this year. Last September, the College launched WISE-FM, the first public radio station in far Southwest Virginia.

Ranked second among the South's public liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report, UVa-Wise is home to 1,500 students. The College offers undergraduate and pre-professional programs in the liberal arts tradition of Thomas Jefferson.

For more information, contact Jane Meade-Dean in the Office of College Relations at 540-328-0130 or via e-mail at jmeade-dean@virginia.edu.