Piedmont University has named Marshall Criser, former chancellor of Florida’s university system, as its next president.
The announcement comes after a broad-based search that began after Dr. James Mellichamp, who has served as president for the last 10 years, announced his retirement in June.
“We are really excited about Marshall Criser as our new president. He is innovative, smart, and brings a long list of accomplishments as a university and corporate leader. He has worked with faculty members and community and political leaders to lead Florida’s higher education system to a No. 1 ranking in the nation. He’s committed to student success, and he’s got roots in our region. We are excited about him bringing all his skills, energy, and passion for students to Piedmont,” said Board Chairman Gus Arrendale.
“We also heard that he is very effective at bringing people together, and he is respected and trusted by all. He loves outreach to the community, engagement with everyone on campus, and he is chomping at the bit to get going.”
Other members of the Board commented on Criser’s “thoughtfulness, respect for all members of the community, strategic mindset, sense of humor, personal values, attention to detail, and calming presence,” a press release from Piedmont University states.
Criser recently stepped down as chancellor of the State University System of Florida, a post he held for eight years. As chancellor, he served on the Florida Talent Development Council and the Credential Review Committee. He currently serves as a member of the Florida Council of 100, where he is a former chair. He is also a member of the Enterprise Florida Board, the Florida Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, co-chair of the Florida Chamber of Commerce Past Chairs Council, and the Florida Chamber 2025 Strategic Planning Committee.
He is also a former president of AT&T Florida.
Criser graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in business administration and completed the Advanced Management Programme at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.
Criser and his wife, Kimberly Robbins Criser, have been married for more than 40 years. Kimberly is a graduate of Florida State University with a degree in economics. She currently serves on the UF Health Leadership Council for Pediatrics and the board of Opening Nights, an annual series of cultural and performing arts events in Tallahassee, Florida. They share four daughters, three sons-in-law, one son-in-law to be, and four grandchildren.
Criser’s start date is January 1, 2023.
Piedmont’s beleaguered past
When Criser takes over as Piedmont University president next year, he assumes leadership of an institution beleagured by deteriorating relations between the administration and faculty. Cracks in the relationship began surfacing in August 2018 after a fired tenured biology professor, Dr. Robert Wainberg, filed a lawsuit for breach of contract against the school. Allegations against Dr. Mellichamp followed in affidavits from students and staff filed in connection to that suit.
Former Wainberg colleague and then- mayor of Demorest, Dr. Rick Austin, claimed under oath that Mellichamp had sexually harassed and assaulted him. Former student Paul Allen-King claimed Mellichamp “tacitly approved” of predatory conduct by another professor when Mellichamp was chair of the music department in the early 90s.
In November 2020, the college sued the city of Demorest in what some viewed at the time as a retailiatory move against Austin. While the lawsuit cited a series of allegations against the city regarding water and sewer rates, campus policing, and development, the only remedy the suit asked for was that Austin be removed from his job as mayor and from his tenured position as a biology professor at Piedmont.
In April 2021, Austin filed a countersuit.
The legal wrangling and costs that followed took a toll and it all came to a head when on May 9, 2022, the Piedmont University Faculty Senate passed a no confidence vote against Mellichamp following faculty layoffs. Faculty leaders cited mismanagement, lack of transparency, and the pending lawsuits among their concerns. They asked the board of trustees to appoint an interim president while conducting a search for a new president.
On May 11, Board of Trustees Chairman Gus Arrendale released a statement dismissing the Faculty Senate’s request to remove Mellichamp. He defended the president saying, “Piedmont University has thrived during President Mellichamp’s decade of leadership.”
On June 7, Dr. Daniel Silber, Piedmont’s Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, resigned in protest over a second round of proposed staffing and budget cuts. A week later, a prominent faculty member resigned alleging “underhanded,” “unethical,” and “abusive” behaviors by Dr. Mellichamp and his spouse, Dr. Daniel Smith.
For a second time, the Faculty Senate asked the Board of Trustees to act, requesting they suspend and remove Mellichamp and Smith from campus so an investigation could be conducted into their alleged misconduct. The Board of Trustees did not follow through on that specific request, but on June 20, 2022, President Mellichamp announced his retirement pending the selection of a permanent successor.
More divisiveness followed after the Board of Trustees’ Executive Committee reneged on a pledge by the head of the presidential search committee to include faculty, students and other stakeholders in the process to find a new president. Chairman Arrendale released a statement on June 29, 2022, saying their decision to limit the search committee to only trustees was made to “maintain the level of strict confidentiality required by potential candidates.”
In a highly unusual move in September of this year, Piedmont faculty passed a resolution of no confidence in the executive committee saying its management “has been damaging to the University’s reputation, stature, and sustainability.” Faculty members had hoped the vote would spur the board to elect new officers and a new executive committee. No immediate action was taken. Now, with the announcement of Criser’s hiring, Piedmont alumni, faculty, administrators, and trustees are undoubtedly hoping to usher in a new era as the university concludes its quasquicentennial celebrations and looks to the future.
