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WEST LIBERTY -- West Liberty University's Board of Governors named Tim Borchers as the university's 38th president during a board meeting Friday morning.
"I am pleased to announce that Borchers was chosen by a unanimous vote and has accepted our offer to become West Liberty University's president. We welcome him to the Hilltop and look forward to introducing him to our students, alumni, donors, friends and the wider community," said Rich Lucas, chairman of the Board of Governors, who also served on the presidential search committee.
A native of South Dakota, Borchers will assume the presidency on July 1. Currently, he is vice president for academic affairs at Peru State College, the oldest college in Nebraska, with an enrollment of approximately 2,000 students.
"I am humbled and honored to be selected as the next president of West Liberty University. For 187 years, West Liberty has served the state by preparing graduates to be leaders in their communities and professions. I look forward to continuing that work while identifying ways to be innovative and responsive to a changing world," said Borchers, who attended the meeting through Zoom.
Borchers succeeds interim President Cathy Monteroso who has served as president since Jan. 1.
"I would like to express my thanks to the search committee led by Tom Cervone and the AGB Search professionals who assisted us in selecting the next leader," Lucas added. "All four final candidates were strong prospects with years of experience. I am confident that Borchers will lead West Liberty University into a vibrant future and continue its mission of quality education for all."
Borchers stated that, "The faculty and staff with whom I met during my campus visit were each dedicated to transforming the lives of students and it will be energizing to provide leadership for their work. I'm deeply committed to the mission and vision of West Liberty. Its values of being a caring and affordable university that provides a high-quality education resonates with my beliefs and background."
Borchers holds a doctoral and master's degree in communication from Wayne State University in Detroit, and a bachelor's degree in speech communication from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.
He is the author of the book "Persuasion in the Media Age," which is in its fourth edition and co-author of "Rhetorical Theory: An Introduction," now in its second edition.
During his tenure at Peru State College, the school achieved its highest first-year retention rate and enrolled two of the largest first-year student classes in the past 30 years. He spearheaded the campus migration to new retention software, and added new academic programs and partnerships to prepare Peru State students to meet the workforce needs of the State of Nebraska.
Peru State received continuing accreditation status with the Higher Learning Commission in 2022. He also led the assessment of academic and general education programs while providing support to co-curricular assessment efforts.
Borchers also served as the dean of the College of Arts, Media, and Communication at Minnesota State University Moorhead in Moorhead, Minn., from May 2008 to June 2015.
Before that, he was the founding chair of the Communication Studies Department at MSUM and served as associate dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and the College of Social and Natural Sciences.