UMW Announces Tenth President

The University of Mary Washington Board of Visitors has identified Dr. Troy D. Paino as the institution’s tenth president, effective July 1, 2016. Paino is currently president of Truman State University, Missouri’s designated public liberal arts and sciences university.

UMW welcomes its 10th president, Dr. Troy Paino.

Paino has been president of Truman State since May 2010. The university, which is located in Kirksville, Missouri, enrolls 6,200 students and is ranked the No. 1 Public University in the Midwest Region by U.S. News & World Report. Previously, Paino was Truman State’s provost and vice president for academic affairs, and he also served as dean of Winona State University’s College of Liberal Arts.

“I am fully aware of UMW’s reputation for academic excellence and commitment to developing the qualities of mind and heart necessary for reflective citizenship,” said Paino. “I am honored to have been selected to lead this great university forward in its critically important mission.”

Holly T. Cuellar, UMW rector and chair of the search advisory committee, said, “Troy Paino is a highly distinguished national leader who has taken an active role in speaking and writing about the future of higher education. His values resonate perfectly with Mary Washington’s fundamental principles of academic excellence and social uplift.”

Paino earned doctorate and master’s degrees in American studies from Michigan State University. He holds a juris doctorate from Indiana University and a bachelor’s degree in history and philosophy from Evangel University.

His teaching and scholarly interests include American higher education, 20th-century cultural and social history and American legal history. He has written extensively on the history of American sports and published his book, The Social History of the United States: 1960s, in 2008.

Paino serves on the board of directors of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), and he is a member of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) President’s Trust for Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP). He is president-elect of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC), and he serves as treasurer of the Council on Public Higher Education in Missouri (COPHE).

As president of Truman State, Paino has developed a reputation as a personable, student-focused leader who isn’t afraid to show his passion for student life. He is highly engaged with all constituencies on campus and is a recognized leader at both the state and national levels.

He and his wife, Kelly Paino, have two daughters, Sophia and Chloe.

The UMW Board of Visitors was assisted in the search by multiple constituencies. The Board partnered with executive search firm Baker and Associates LLC, under the lead of Senior Vice President Martin Baker, to conduct the search and recruit a large pool of highly qualified candidates from within and outside higher education.

The Board appointed a 19-member Presidential Search Advisory Committee that included faculty, student, staff, alumni and board representatives. The committee held an extensive array of open forums and provided an online comment form to gather input to guide the search. It then reviewed applications and conducted initial interviews. Utilizing a hybrid search model, a group of 21 additional stakeholders from UMW and the community participated in semifinalist interviews. Ultimately, the advisory committee recommended a small group of finalists to the Board of Visitors.

The appointment of the president is, by statute, the responsibility of the UMW Board of Visitors. The Board held a public vote to ratify the contract for appointment of the institution’s tenth president at its regular meeting on Feb. 18, 2016. Paino was introduced to the campus community at 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 19, in the Chandler Ballroom of the University Center.

For more information, contact the university’s Office of Media and Public Relations at mmorris3@umw.edu or 540-654-1055.