DE PERE (NBC 26) — Laurie M. Joyner, Ph.D., has been named the ninth president of St. Norbert College, effective July 12, 2023, the college announced Friday.
St. Norbert College said Joyner will become the first woman to lead the institution in its 125-year history. She will take over for Thomas Kunkel, who has successfully led the college on an interim basis for one year.
According to a news release from the college, Joyner leaves St. Xavier University in Chicago where she has been president since 2017. Prior to St. Xavier, Joyner served as president of Wittenberg University in Ohio and in multiple vice presidential and dean roles at Rollins College in Florida.
Prior to Rollins, Joyner served on the faculty and held administrative positions of increasing responsibility at Loyola University New Orleans, where she also earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology, graduating magna cum laude. From there, she went on to receive her master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology from Tulane University, also in New Orleans.
A noted leader in Catholic higher education, Joyner was recently elected to the board of the Association of Catholic Colleges & Universities. She is a two-time recipient of “POWER 50” (2014, 2015), an award honoring the most influential female executives in the Dayton, Ohio, region, and received the Woman of Distinction Leadership Award from the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio in October 2014.
In addition to her numerous published works, she has participated as a keynote speaker and expert panelist for national conferences on a range of areas, including higher education trends and challenges, leadership development, nonprofit governance, and effective university-community partnerships.
Joyner and her husband, Jay Joyner, have three sons: Jay, Alexander, and Christopher.
