PROVIDENCE – Mim L. Runey, who has served as the Johnson & Wales University Providence campus president and chief operating officer since 2011, will step up as the school’s chancellor effective Oct. 1.
“From the strong pool of candidates that emerged, the board unanimously agreed that Mim Runey is the right leader at the right time to take Johnson & Wales to new heights,” said James H. Hance Jr., chairman of the JWU Board of Trustees and chair of the chancellor search committee, in prepared remarks.
Runey will be the school’s third chancellor in its 104-year history. She succeeds John J. Bowen, who announced his retirement in January.
Bowen will assume the role of chancellor emeritus on Oct. 1 until his retirement at the end of the calendar year.
In a statement, Runey said she is “honored to have been chosen to lead” JWU.
A top priority for her will be the implementation of the five-year FOCUS 2022 strategic plan.
“Over the next five years, we will expand and design our academic programs to prepare our students for the challenges of the workplace of tomorrow. We also will be known for our pre-eminence in the study of food. I am excited to lead this new chapter in our university’s history,” said Runey in her prepared remarks.
Runey joined JWU 29 years ago at its Charleston, S.C., campus and in 2006 moved north to serve as the senior vice president of institutional planning at the Providence campus.
She holds a doctorate in law and policy from Northeastern University, a master’s degree in management from Webster University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Clemson University. She is a member of a subcommittee of the National Association of Independent Colleges & Universities and a board member of Norwich University in Vermont.
She currently is the chair of the Rhode Island chapter of the Association of Independent Colleges & Universities and in April assumed the presidency of the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council.
Emily Gowdey-Backus is a staff writer for PBN. You can follow her on Twitter @FlashGowdey or contact her via email, gowdey-backus@pbn.com.
