CARA HOFSTRA
PHOTOGRAPHER
JORDAN FOX
COPY EDITOR
1/20/2025
On Nov. 20, 2024, Alma College announced that the Board of Trustees appointed Eric Blackhurst (‘83) as Interim President of the college and named Jeff Abernathy as President Emeritus.
“The board believes that naming an interim leader is an important step to help prepare the college to welcome its new president and advance our progress toward our goals,” said Darryl Schimeck (‘82), Chairman of the Alma College Board of Trustees, in a campus-wide email.
“Fourteen years is a long time to have the same leader, whether it’s in business or in higher education at a college. And so the board felt that it was time for us to start the process of change,” said Blackhurst.
Blackhurst expressed that there are several things he and the team behind him would like to accomplish during his short time in office.
“We have a number of goals that I’ve enunciated to all the employees on campus. One, we are going to recruit and retain students… Secondly, we’re going to maintain financial discipline. We need to maintain control over costs and like any organization that has a budget, we need to make our budget,” said Blackhurst.
“Lastly, I intend to be a cheerleader. I think [there are] a lot of really good things going on and I think we kind of keep it hidden under a basket sometimes… So, a big part of my job is being a cheerleader and a celebrator,” said Blackhurst.
Blackhurst has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 2011 and served as its chair from 2018 to 2022. He also served as a director of the Association of Governing Boards (AGB) of Universities and Colleges.
Blackhurst retired from his position as Associate General Counsel of The Dow Chemical Company in September 2024 after working for the company for 35 years.
“My Alma experience truly changed the trajectory of my life. I’m a first-generation college student… I was on my own about how college worked and it was the faculty here and particular mentors who were demanding and supportive at the same time to challenge me to grow and see who I was and what I might be in the future, and that put me on a trajectory that was very, very different than might have happened from a kid from a working-class family,” said Blackhurst.
“I’d like students to know that I too didn’t know what I was going to be and where I was going to go, and that what I wished someone would have told me is that it’s going to be all right. All of this turns out quite well if we focus on what’s in front of us right now,” said Blackhurst.
The appointment of Blackhurst as interim president has not delayed the ongoing search for Alma College’s next president.
“The search committee has entered the confidential final phases of the presidential search during which the leading candidates are participating in deeper conversations with Alma constituencies. The search committee will then make its recommendations to the Board of Trustees, who will select Alma’s 14th president,” said Erika Powers Appelt, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Presidential Search Committee.
“We anticipate an announcement of Alma’s next president in February 2025 or as shortly thereafter as possible,” said Powers.
It is important to remain open-minded as this time of immense change on campus can be overwhelming for students. Students must also continue to advocate for themselves to ensure that the changes are positive.
“As the new leader transitions into the role, student voices will be crucial to their success,” said Powers.
The Almanian: News 
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