North Central College President Hal Wilde Retiring Later This Year

After more than two decades as president of Naperville's North Central College, Hal Wilde announced Friday morning his plans to retire at the end of the 2012 calendar year.

Members of the Board of Trustees said they have already started planning for the recruitment and selection of the college's next president.

Trustees have begun to organize the leadership for a Search Committee, and plan to appoint further members—including trustee, faculty, student, staff and alumni representatives—to the panel in the coming weeks. They said they also plan to seek input from the larger North Central College community.

For more information on the search for a successor, read the email North Central Board Chair and alumnus Steve Hoeft sent to the campus community.

The ninth person to serve as president of the 150-year-old liberal arts college, Wilde characterized his work with the school and members of the North Central community as "a rare privilege." 

“There were many days—not every day, but many—when I would have paid for that privilege," Wilde said in a statement released by the college Friday morning.

For more from Wilde about his departure, read the message he sent to the campus community.

Among Wilde's accomplishments during his nearly 22 years as president, board members pointed Friday morning to a doubling of the college's full-time student population, completion of 15 building projects, a $50 million capital campaign, a 10-fold increase in its endowment and continuously balanced budgets.

“By any standard, Hal Wilde has had a remarkable tenure as North Central’s president,” Hoeft said in the college's statement Friday. “His legacy will be felt on this campus—and throughout the community of Naperville—for generations to come.”

Wilde first told North Central's board about his plans to retire two years ago, but committed to stay in his role at the college through its sesquicentennial.

For more information on Wilde, read his full bio.