Outgoing Mars Hill University President Dan Lunsford will give his farewell address to the campus on Tuesday, May 1, 2018, at 3 p.m. in Broyhill Chapel. Lunsford is retiring at the end of the academic year, following 16 years as president. Lunsford became president on an interim basis in January 2002, following the resignation of the late Max Lennon. The board of trustees of what was then Mars Hill College made the position permanent in May 2003.
Lunsford’s tenure at Mars Hill University has been marked by growth in many areas, fitting the theme of his presidency: Preserving the Past, Assuring the Future. Under Lunsford the school transitioned from a college to a university in 2013; completed its first comprehensive capital campaign (and is in the final stages of its second); saw the largest building boom in campus facilities since the 1970s (with the addition of three new residence halls and three new classroom and laboratory buildings, as well as the building and renovation of several athletic facilities); established the Asheville Center for Adult and Graduate Studies in south Asheville; added a large portion of the campus to the National Register of Historic Places; strengthened and added academic programs (including an Honors Program; master’s degrees in criminal justice, elementary education, and management; and a nursing school); and increased funding for scholarships and other financial aid for students.
