Maryville celebrates Lombardi’s revolutionizing of higher education by expanding access and opportunity for all

 [St. Louis, MO, August 12, 2024] – The tenth president of Maryville University, Dr. Mark Lombardi, Ph.D., today announced he will retire in June 2025 at the end of the coming academic year. Since 2007 Lombardi has led the university to unparalleled expansion, growing from a local university of 3,000 students to over 9,000 students from 50 states and nearly 60 countries.

Today Maryville is cited as a national leader for innovation in higher education. Named one of the ten fastest growing private universities in the nation for the past several years, Maryville has been recognized by Forbes, US News, and the Chronicle of Higher Education, and also designated an Apple Distinguished School three times.

Under Lombardi’s leadership, Maryville was an early leader in reimagining “digital first” education, which is grounded in three components:

• Launching and growing over 60 online degree programs and MaryvilleWORKS, a workforce development program.
• Delivering iPads to all students loaded with course content and hundreds of free learning applications with access to digital textbooks.
• Offering 100% of available course materials in a digital format reducing student costs significantly over their collegiate career.

Alongside these “digital first” initiatives, Maryville pioneered a life coaching model for all traditional undergraduate students to support student success and retention, and expanded access by freezing tuition for the past five years and lowering it by 5% in 2020.

“These initiatives and many more opened up access and opportunity for thousands of students across the nation,” Lombardi added.

“It is the singular honor of my life to have led Maryville to national prominence. Now it is time for a 21^st century leader who will build on our revolution. Maryville will lead the quest to empower tens of thousands of students to become the first college graduates in their families,” Lombardi said.

“Dr. Lombardi and his team have dramatically changed Maryville over the last 17+ years. It has been a true pleasure to work with Mark to expand access and opportunity, and to see thousands of students succeed and thrive within that robust and vibrant vision,” said Ed Ryan, Chair of the Maryville Board of Trustees. “I know first-hand, because my son was one of those students.”

Ryan said that a search committee has been formed under the direction of Chris Chadwick, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, a Maryville alum, and will begin its search shortly.

“I look forward to finding Maryville’s next president. Our top priority will be to identify a leader who is firmly committed to student success within the dynamic 21st century learning environment that Maryville has built and led,” Chadwick said.

In fall 2024 Maryville will welcome its largest first-year class in its history, with a 20% increase in enrollment over 2023, as well as a strong financial standing, finishing FY2024 with an $8 million dollar surplus. As a result of this growth, Maryville is in the early stages of designing a new residential hall to accommodate increasing student demand.

“Maryville has taken extraordinary pivots since Mark joined. He made it clear that the existing methods of teaching and learning, and the higher education structures and systems that support them, would not be sufficient for the future,” said Joanne Soliday, a founding partner of Credo and Advisor to the Maryville Board of Trustees. “It has been a privilege to witness the transformation as Maryville embarked on a new direction. No one can deny their success.”

Lombardi has been in higher education for 40 years. He has published 13 books and numerous articles on topics ranging from global issues, 9/11, and US foreign policy to the state of higher education. His most recent book Pivot: A Vision for the New University, co-authored with Soliday, remains a sought-after treatise on the future of higher education.

After retirement, Lombardi will return to his writing and speaking roots. He plans to write a book on the wonders and challenges of being a college president in the 21^st century. He also plans to speak and consult on topics related to higher education and he’d love to improve his long struggling golf game.

About Maryville University

Founded in 1872, Maryville University is a comprehensive and nationally ranked private institution with an enrollment of 9,000 students. Maryville offers over 90 degrees at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels, as well as several certificates that align with the undergraduate and graduate education levels. Maryville is recognized as the third fastest-growing private university in the United States by The Chronicle of Higher Education, serving students from 50 states and 56 countries. More than 17,000 Maryville alumni work and live in the St. Louis region.