Virginia Intermont president announces he's stepping down
BRISTOL, Va. — After leading Virginia Intermont College for five years, Michael J. Puglisi announced Monday that he is stepping down as president of the college, following VI’s success in ensuring it will continue in accreditation.
A hallmark achievement of his presidency was his ability to raise philanthropic funds for the annual operating expenses of the college, including $3.5 million raised last year.
“With 2010 beginning, the time is right following the hard work of these last several years for the college to have new leadership and fresh perspective,” Puglisi said. “I was asked to serve as president when the college faced significant hardships. I am enormously proud to have helped navigate those hardships.”
The college’s dean of religious life, Robert Rainwater Jr., a VI faculty member for three decades, will serve as the college’s acting president. VI will conduct a national search for its next president, with plans to name a new president this summer.
“VI, this institution I care for so deeply, owes a tremendous debt to Dr. Puglisi,” Rainwater said. “He is a close friend and has worked tirelessly to see the college through. I will do everything I can to serve as a good steward over the coming months of the presidential search process and whatever ongoing restructuring will benefit the college, a process Dr. Puglisi has very ably put in place. VI has a strong spirit, reflected in our burgeoning enrollment, and I see its brightest days ahead.”
Wayne Kennedy, chairman of the college’s board of trustees, said: “I know I speak for the entire VI community — students, faculty, staff, donors, alumni, the community and trustees — in thanking Mike deeply for taking on a difficult job and leading this college with determination through severe challenges. The college is stronger because of these challenges and because of Mike’s leadership, and the national search process to name a new president for VI will be an opportunity for the college community to set a powerful agenda for the future. It will also be exciting for Bristol to welcome a new leader into the broader community through this national search.”
Puglisi, a historian of Colonial America, is the author of “Puritans Besieged: The Legacies of King Phillip’s War in the Massachusetts Bay Colony” and editor of “Diversity and Accommodation, Essays on the Cultural Composition of the Virginia Frontier.” He also has published numerous articles and chapters on the early Colonial frontier.
Puglisi earned a bachelor of arts from James Madison University, graduating summa cum laude with distinction in history. He received his master of arts and doctoral degrees from the College of William and Mary. Puglisi began his teaching career at Virginia Military Institute and went on to hold teaching positions at Emory and Henry College and Marian College in Wisconsin before coming to VI as academic dean and then provost. He will continue to be available to the college as an adviser through the academic year and is considering future college, university and historical organization positions.
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