Mary Baldwin University President Jeff Stein has resigned and has been replaced by one of the Staunton university’s deans.
Stein, who served as Mary Baldwin’s president for two years, offered his resignation this past Tuesday, according to a letter from the co-chairs of the university’s board of trustees shared on the university’s Facebook page and website.
The reasons for Stein’s departure have been described as “personal”; no further details were provided.
He is being replaced as president by Todd Telemeco, who has served as the university’s vice president and dean of the Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences since July 2023.
Stein came to Mary Baldwin two years ago from Elon University in North Carolina.
Board of Trustees Co-Chairs Eloise Chandler and Constance Dierickx credited Stein with several accomplishments in his brief tenure at Mary Baldwin.
“We are especially grateful for Dr. Stein’s ability to reinvigorate the connection between the university and our alumni, including his making numerous in-person visits to alumni chapters and hosting various meetings, celebrations, and social gatherings at the president’s house,” they wrote in their letter. “The renewed energy in alumni relations has also contributed to significantly higher alumni giving rates.”
The letter also lauded Stein’s creation of academic neighborhoods, an initiative “which brings faculty and students together in supportive communities, and the pursuit of a forward-looking skills strategy designed to ensure graduates are equipped for success in their post-graduate careers.”
Stein also was praised for starting a new structure and process to support students’ academic and personal needs.
Before coming to Mary Baldwin, Stein worked as Elon’s vice president for strategic initiatives and partnerships. While at that job, Stein developed the Boldly Elon strategic plan and the university’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stein told The News Virginian in May 2023 after his selection as Mary Baldwin president that “the more I learned about Mary Baldwin, the more people I met I felt the calling.” He also said, “I sort of fell in love with the institution.”
The board co-chairs wrote that Telemeco, a licensed physical therapist with two doctoral degrees, “has impressed the board of trustees with his breadth of knowledge regarding all aspects of an institution of higher education.”
Telemeco has more than 20 years of experience as a professor and in leadership positions in higher education. He was previously the school of health sciences dean at Methodist University, founding dean at Pembroke University’s College of Health Sciences, and vice president of academic affairs at the University of Mount Olive — all in North Carolina.
Mary Baldwin University is a private college in Staunton founded in 1842 as the Augusta Female Seminary. Today, it is a coeducational institute and named for the woman who ran the seminary for 34 years.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com