News

Carroll University appoints Gnadinger to serve as President

from the website of Carroll University

Carroll University has named Dr. Cindy Gnadinger as its next president. She will serve as Carroll’s fifteenth president and succeed President Douglas Hastad, who will retire after leading the University for over a decade.

Gnadinger brings more than two decades of experience in higher education to the role, most recently serving at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky.

“We’re excited to welcome Dr. Gnadinger as our next leader,” said Jim DeJong ’73, immediate past chair of the Carroll University Board of Trustees and chair of the presidential search committee. “Beyond her impressive credentials, she is a dynamic leader with a strong commitment to higher education. Her demonstrated ability to engage the entire Carroll community will be very important in shaping a strategic vision for the university’s future. Under Dr. Gnadinger’s leadership, we will continue to support the many achievements of the past decade while creating new opportunities that continue to move Carroll forward.”

Gnadinger, 50, has more than 23 years of experience in higher education and over 15 years in administration. She was selected by the Board of Trustees after a nationwide search and a unanimous recommendation from a search committee comprised of trustees, faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students, and alumni. Myers McRae Executive Search and Consulting assisted with the comprehensive search, which included a diverse pool of applicants from across the country. Gnadinger will be the first woman to serve in the role of president at Carroll University since its inception in 1846.

Among her many accomplishments, Gnadinger is a 2013 recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, which allowed her to travel abroad to France with other administrators to visit many higher educational institutions and explore partnership opportunities. The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries.

“Carroll is impressive in every respect. In addition to its outstanding academic reputation, I was drawn to the university’s strong foundation in the liberal arts, its expanding role as a leader in the health sciences and its commitment to a culture of service in a diverse and global society,” said Gnadinger. “I am privileged to join Carroll and honored to serve our students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community. Together, we have an opportunity to create, innovate, and pioneer.”

Currently, Gnadinger is an executive consultant for Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky. She serves as a member of the President’s Cabinet and provides input on all units of the university, with special focus on issues related to accreditation and regulatory compliance. She previously held many roles at Bellarmine from 2000-2013, including faculty member, department head, dean and assistant vice president for academic affairs. She played an important role in the institution’s significant growth through the development of new programs and was instrumental in helping lead faculty development. In addition, Gnadinger spent time at William Peace University in Raleigh, N.C. (2013-2014) as vice president for academic affairs and St. Catharine College in St. Catharine, Ky., serving as provost (2014-2015) and then president (2015-2016).

Gnadinger earned her bachelor’s degree from Western Kentucky University and master’s degree from the University of Louisville. She has a Doctor of Education in education supervision from the University of Louisville. A native of Shepherdsville, Ky., Gnadinger has been married to her husband, John, an employee of Johnson Controls, for nearly 27 years and has three sons, Luke, Dean, and Kyle who are pursuing careers as a ceramic artist, actor, and musician, respectively. Gnadinger and her husband will make the move to Waukesha with their bichon frise, Truman.