Thomas H. Powell has been appointed the 24th president of Mount St. Mary's College and Seminary, as announced today by its board of trustees.

Powell, currently the president of Glenville State College in Glenville, West Virginia, succeeds the retiring George R. Houston, Jr., effective July 1, 2003.

"I am both pleased and honored to be given this opportunity," said Powell. "The Mount is about many things, but chiefly it is about people – about talented students, staff and faculty. It was meeting the people of Mount St. Mary’s and experiencing this community that convinced me this is where I should be."

Powell, 49, came to Glenville State College in 1999. With an enrollment of 2,500 students, Powell is credited with completing a major campus renovation program, revitalizing the college’s Foundation and developing its first annual fund program, increasing the college’s endowment, and initiating a program titled: "A Renaissance of Shared Values," to focus attention on the key values of academic integrity.

Prior to Glenville State College, Powell was a professor of education and dean at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina (1994-99); and a professor of special education and dean at Montana State University (1990-94).

He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in special education from Montana State University, in 1976 and 1979, respectively, and completed an Ed.D. in special education from Vanderbilt University in 1981.

Powell’s selection caps a six-month national search in which many outstanding candidates emerged. In all, the 16-member presidential search committee – comprised of a cross-section of the Mount community – including trustees, faculty, administrators, staff, students and alumni, reviewed 41 candidates.

Thomas G. O’Hara, a 1964 graduate of Mount St. Mary’s and chairman of the search committee, said Powell is the right choice to lead the college and seminary – especially as the Mount prepares to celebrate it’s 200th anniversary in 2008.

"As we move forward in meeting the challenges and opportunities facing us, we are indeed fortunate to have someone with Dr. Powell’s background and talent at the helm," O’Hara said. "With his understanding and respect for a liberal arts education and his deep Catholic faith, Dr. Powell is well positioned to advance the mission of Mount St. Mary’s as we prepare for our third century."