(SC TImes) The Rev. Robert Koopmann will not seek a second term as president of St. John’s University, he announced today.
Koopmann, who has been president of St. John’s since July 2009, will leave the job at the end of the 2011-2012 academic year, he announced. Koopmann has one year left on his three-year appointment and announced his intentions early so that St. John’s could have enough time for a presidential search and transition.
“Serving as president has been a fulfilling and exhilarating experience,” Koopmann said in a statement released this morning. “St. John’s is — and will always remain — the center of my life, and I am honored to be among those who have provided leadership during its 155-year history.”
Koopmann said he plans to stay “actively involved in the life of this wonderful community” for the near and distant futures.
“My passion for teaching and music remain, and I look forward to recommitting myself to the many additional ways I can be of service to St. John’s,” he said in the statement.
Koopmann replaced interim president Dan Whalen, who held the job briefly after Brother Dietrich Reinhart resigned due to declining health in October 2008. Koopmann has been professor of music at St. John’s since 1975 and was one of three Benedictine monks who were finalists for the job after Reinhart left.
In the statement, Koopmann cited the successes in his tenure as president. But he also referenced the stresses of the job.
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SJU’s Koopmann will serve single term as president
St. Cloud Times
David Unze
May 25, 2011
