Presidential Search
Jake Schrum Named 21st President of Emory & Henry College
Things to know about Jake Schrum,
The 21st President of Emory & Henry College
- From 2000 to 2013, President Schrum led Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. Prior to holding this position, he served as president of Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas, from 1991 to 2000.
- President Schrum becomes the second former Southwestern University president to serve as president of Emory & Henry. William Carrington Finch, who served as president of Southwestern from 1949-1961, was president of Emory & Henry from 1965 to 1970.
- President Schrum earned an undergraduate degree in psychology from Southwestern in 1968 and went on to earn a master of divinity degree from Yale Divinity School in 1973. He began his career in higher education administration by serving as a fundraiser for Yale, and then went on to hold other positions in university advancement at Muhlenberg College, Texas Wesleyan University, Southwestern University and Emory University. He returned to Texas Wesleyan University to serve as its president from 1991 to 2000.
- During his tenure at Southwestern, President Schrum presided over the largest fundraising campaign in the university’s history. That campaign, which was known as Thinking Ahead: The Southwestern Campaign, raised more than $136 million of its $150 million goal.
- President Schrum personally received three presidential leadership grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and helped secure the relocation of the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE), which is supported by the Mellon Foundation, to Southwestern in 2009.
- Funds raised through the Thinking Ahead campaign allowed Southwestern to construct several new buildings during President Schrum’s tenure, including a new admission center and the Prothro Center for Lifelong Learning, which consolidates student services into one building. Several buildings also were renovated, such as the Alma Thomas Fine Arts Center.
- Funds raised through the campaign also enabled Southwestern to start its signature program known as the Paideia program. The program was designed to help students integrate what they learn in the classroom with outside experiences such as civic engagement, intercultural learning and research projects with professors.
- President Schrum personally pushed for an emphasis on sustainability at Southwestern. On Jan. 12, 2010, President Schrum signed an agreement with the city of Georgetown that enables Southwestern to get all of its electricity from wind power for the next 18 years. All the buildings that have been constructed at Southwestern in the past five years have earned LEED certification.
- Enhancing student life on campus was another focus of President Schrum’s administration at Southwestern. Included in this was expanding Southwestern’s athletic offerings. Four new varsity athletic teams were started or announced during his tenure—softball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, and football.
