Belmont University Provost Dan McAlexander, 55, was named

as the 25th president of LaGrange College after a unanimous vote of

approval by the institution’s board of trustees Thursday afternoon.

McAlexander will assume the post on July 1, according to Board of

Trustees Chair Bill Hodges. He replaces President Stuart Gulley, who

will step down in June to become the president of Woodward Academy in

Atlanta.

“In Dr. McAlexander, the Presidential Search Committee found a highly

qualified, experienced and visionary leader who is passionate about

making a difference in the lives of young people and is appreciative of

LaGrange College’s mission of challenging the mind and inspiring the

soul,” said Hodges, who also served as chair of the search committee.

McAlexander, who has served as Belmont’s provost for eight years, said

he is grateful to have been chosen for the position.

“I am both honored and humbled by my selection as LaGrange’s next

president,” he said. “The college is rich in history and tradition. It

occupies a stunningly beautiful, immaculately kept campus, and it

attracts talented and motivated students.”

At Belmont, which is located in Nashville, Tenn., McAlexander oversees

the 250 full-time faculty, 80 adjuncts and approximately 200 staff that

serve the university’s academic programs, enrollment services and

student affairs. He is responsible for managing $60 million of the

university’s $117 million dollar budget.

During his tenure, Belmont has experienced an overall enrollment

increase of 68 percent, which translates to 2,000 additional students,

while also seeing spikes in average ACT scores, from 24 to 26, and in

the six-year graduation rate, from 50 percent to 67 percent.

McAlexander earned his Bachelor of Music in Piano at the University of

Kansas, a Master of Music in Piano at The Julliard School and a Doctor

of Musical Arts in Piano at the College-Conservatory of Music at the

University of Cincinnati.

He has been married to Celeste Myall, a violinist, teacher and

conductor, for 33 years. The couple has two daughters, Anne and Alice.

For more, see Friday’s LaGrange Daily News