Presidential Search Profile

President

Mars Hill University

History: Mars Hill University (Mars Hill; MHU) was founded as the French Broad Baptist Institute in Madison County in 1856. Shortly thereafter, the name was changed to Mars Hill College, inspired by Acts 17:22, which said, “Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ Hill and said, ‘Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.’” The college was chartered by the State of North Carolina in 1859 following its founding by some dedicated but struggling local families who wanted their children educated and instructed in the Baptist faith. A local slave, Joe Anderson, was held in collateral for the debt for building the campus until eleven of the trustees agreed to divide the money between them and raised the necessary funds to save Anderson from a slave block sale and return him to his family in Mars Hill. MHU is the oldest institution of higher learning in western North Carolina on its original site.

The devastation of the Civil War in the mountains of North Carolina had a negative impact on Mars Hill College until almost the 20th Century. A succession of short-termed college presidents struggled to keep the college going. A turning point was reached in 1897 when Dr. Robert L. Moore became president and launched a period of stability. His personal faith and integrity became widely known and attracted students whose parents wanted them to come under the influence of such an inspirational leader. The late 1930s began a period of building and progress leading to the conversion of Mars Hill to a four-year status in 1962. Mars Hill had become one of the premiere two-year private colleges in the nation, and the next challenge was attaining that recognition for the four-year institution.

Dr. Fred Bentley was elected President in 1966, becoming the youngest president of a senior college in the nation. Dr. Bentley presided over a period of dramatic change, paralleling in some ways the changes that were taking place in the nation. Mars Hill College expanded its outreach programs and identified itself more closely with the Appalachian region.

After 30 years in office, Dr. Bentley retired in 1996 and was followed by Dr. Max Lennon, an alumnus (class of 1960) and former president of Clemson University. Lennon resigned in January 2002 to head a program in technology and technology transfer to bring the communities of Western North Carolina the advantages of high-speed computing and Internet access.

Dr. Dan G. Lunsford, an alumnus (class of 1969) and Dean of the School of Education at Mars Hill College, was named interim president in January 2002 and elected to the presidency in May 2003. His presidency was marked by improved morale on the campus, progress in building enrollments, success in fund-raising, and creating a vision for a brighter future. In 2011 the college added a master’s degree program in education, which saw its first graduates in 2013.

In August 2013, the institution changed its name to Mars Hill University, to reflect the institution’s expansion, both in terms of enrollment and variety of offerings. Two new residence halls were constructed in 2014, and in 2016, the university opened the Troy and Pauline Day Hall and Ferguson Health Sciences Center. Day Hall houses Mars Hill’s business program, bookstore, a cafe, enhanced accessibility to Owen Theatre, and a “black box” theatre, while Ferguson Health Sciences Center is the home of the Judge-McRae School of Nursing.

In January 2017, President Lunsford announced his retirement, effective in 2018. During the following academic year, the university continued to complete initiatives begun during Dr. Lunsford’s tenure, including the launch of two additional master’s degrees: the Master of Management and the Master of Arts in Criminal Justice.

In March 2018, the Mars Hill University Board of Trustees introduced Tony Floyd, J.D. as the university’s 22nd president and he began his leadership role at MHU on June 1, 2018. President Floyd, who has announced his retirement effective at the conclusion of the 2025-26 academic year, has guided the institution through a period of significant growth, resilience, and renewed spirit. His leadership has been marked by a deep commitment to students, faculty, staff, and the broader community, positioning the university for continued success well into the future.

During his tenure, President Floyd oversaw the completion of transformative campus projects, including the renovation of Marshbanks Hall, the renewal of the Sunken Garden, renovation of Harrell Pool and the Chambers Gymnasium lobby, addition of an indoor batting practice facility, development of the Trammell Family Park on Main Street, renovation of Moore Fine Arts Building Lobby, and the launch of the Together We Rise campaign, bringing the new campus center to life.

President Floyd also championed enrollment growth initiatives like the Local Lion Promise, Judge Blackwell Scholars, and Laurel Scholars that stabilized student numbers during challenging times in higher education and fostered a culture of collaboration across university departments.

Additionally, President Floyd brought the Cothran Center for Career Readiness to the forefront of the MHU student experience. He oversaw the launch of new graduate degrees, Online Master of Management and Master of Arts in Teaching, and new undergraduate degrees in Entrepreneurial Leadership, Community and Nonprofit Leadership, Biomedical Sciences, Ecology and Conservation, Graphic Design Communications, and Web Development. He brought Esports, Acrobatics and Tumbling, Flag Football, and Olympic Weightlifting to enhance athletics offerings.

President Floyd also guided the institution through the COVID-19 pandemic, ushering in online learning and safety measures that held enrollment steady throughout that challenging period. He also led the campus during the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, encouraging many hours of community service work by students, faculty and staff in nearby areas.

Mars Hill University Today: Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award bachelor’s and master’s degrees, MHU is a private, liberal arts institution offering numerous baccalaureate degrees, as well as master’s degrees in criminal justice, teaching, education, and management. In the spring of 2022, the University announced plans to build a new campus center and launched the Together We Rise capital fundraising campaign to raise $24,000,000 to build the center which is expected to open in early 2026.

The University’s Together We Rise Strategic Plan 2023 – 2028 presents goals, guidelines, and aspirations for Mars Hill centered around four themes:

1. Academics
2. Enrollment
3. Student Experience
4. Fiscal and Human Resources

For more information about the strategic click here.

The Mars Hill faculty and staff are dedicated to the development and enrichment of the approximately 1100 students served. The University employs over 200 full-time and part-time individuals. As of fall 2025, the student body included approximately 970 undergraduate students and 130 Adult and Graduate Studies (AGS) students. The student body is made up of approximately 48% female students and 52% male students. MHU is a diverse community: approximately 34% of traditional students identified as persons of color. Approximately 62% of students are from North Carolina, 39% are first-generation college students, 99% receive financial aid, and approximately 70% participate in athletics.

Students at Mars Hill enjoy a liberal arts curriculum, consisting of three parts:

1. The general education curriculum, known as Cultivating Character for a Fulfilling Life, provides fundamental knowledge and skill-development and allows for exploration of the traditional academic disciplines.
2. Majors and minors, providing depth in one or more fields of study.
3. Electives, providing breadth of study that offers students a well-rounded, total education, the essence of a liberal arts university.

The General Education program at MHU equips students with broad-based knowledge that prepares them to understand and appreciate an ever-changing, multi-cultural world. Students progress as critical thinkers and problem-solvers as they learn about themselves and engage with their local and global communities within the framework of character education. Graduates emerge with transferable skills, including effective communication, creative thinking, and the ability to work collaboratively. Through the general education experience, students will become ethical, service-oriented citizens and professionals. Upon completion of Cultivating Character for a Fulfilling Life, students will be able to communicate clearly and effectively in written formats, apply appropriate problem-solving strategies in a variety of settings, and critically analyze ideas, issues, and/or artifacts to come to appropriate conclusions.

MHU offers students 32 majors with various concentrations, and 33 minors for the traditional program. Various academic programs are also offered online through AGS which features non-traditional pathways to degree completion. MHU also offers The Honors Program, a unique curricular program that features a multi-disciplinary approach that complements the University’s interdisciplinary general education core.

Athletically, the Mars Hill Lions compete at the NCAA Division II level in the competitive South Atlantic Conference. MHU has 22 DII sports teams, eSports, clubs, and intramural sports.

For more information about Mars Hill University, please visit: www.mhu.edu

Mission

Mars Hill University, an academic community rooted in the Christian faith, challenges and equips students to pursue intellectual, spiritual, and personal growth through an education that is:

• GROUNDED in a rigorous study of the Liberal Arts.
• CONNECTED with the world of work.
• COMMITTED to character development, to service, and to responsible citizenship in the community, the region, and the world.

The mission statement was adopted in 1997 as part of the university’s strategic planning process. To accompany its Mission Statement, Mars Hill University has further defined itself with a Religious Identity Statement.

Religious Identity Statement

Mars Hill’s religious identity will never be fully answered through a simple written statement but will continually emerge through an ongoing dialogue among members of the Mars Hill family. Based on the MHU mission statement, the Religious Identity Statement was developed by the Religious Life Committee in consultation with the Church Relations Council. In addition, faculty, staff, students, and the Board of Advisors offered input. In November 2003, the Board of Trustees of the University voted to approve the use of this document to publicly communicate the religious identity of the University. It represents Mars Hill’s best understanding of who we are relative to our Christian roots, and it is an invitation to all members of the Mars Hill community—alumni, trustees, faculty, staff, students, and prospective students—to join in this rich conversation as we seek to fulfill our mission. To read the MHU Religious Identity Statement, please visit: https://www.mhu.edu/about/who-we-are/religious-identity-statement/

About Mars Hill, North Carolina

Mars Hill University is located in one of the most beautiful regions of the Eastern United States, the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. The town of Mars Hill, which derives its name from the university, has a population of about 2,200. It is approximately 20 minutes north of Asheville, NC and approximately 45 minutes southwest of Johnson City, TN.

Asheville is the largest city in the western third of the state with a population of approximately 91,000. Asheville has the sophisticated attractions of a major metropolis and is known for its quality arts, crafts, and music offerings. The campus is also 10 miles east of Marshall, the county seat of Madison County.

From the 194-acre campus, which sits at an elevation of 2,330 feet, an inspiring panorama of lofty peaks may be viewed, including the Craggies and Clingman’s Peak. Such scenic attractions as Mount Mitchell (the highest peak in the eastern United States), Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Craggy Gardens, Linville Falls and Cavern, Biltmore House and Gardens, Big Bald Mountain, and the Blue Ridge Parkway are within easy driving distance.

Mars Hill is a wonderful place to live, work, shop, learn, and enjoy a leisurely pace and quality of life. Residents and visitors enjoy easy access to mountain sports and family activities including skiing, hiking, cycling, horseback riding, and whitewater rafting.

Located just 11 miles from the Tennessee border, Mars Hill is known for its rich music and crafts heritage. Renowned musicologist Bascom Lamar Lunsford, founder of the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, grew up here and brought international recognition to the region’s traditional mountain music. Every autumn the Heritage Festival celebrates mountain crafts, arts, and music, and highlights the town’s role as the historic center of the clogging dance tradition.

The close relationship between MHU’s students, faculty, and staff and the residents of Mars Hill has continued for more than a century. While the University campus anchors the downtown area, Mars Hill supports a diversity of businesses, professional offices, and services. The town is home to an excellent medical center, retirement center, elementary school, public library, recreation facilities, and cultural opportunities.

For more information about Mars Hill, NC, please visit: www.townofmarshill.org

The President

The President serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the University with responsibility for ensuring the success of MHU’s mission, academic integrity, fiscal stability and sustainability, enrollment management, fundraising efforts, personnel development, and physical plant management. In doing so, the President works closely with the Board of Trustees in developing, communicating, and executing a strategy consistent with the overall mission and vision of MHU. As such, the President serves a university community where people care as if they are family…an academic community rooted in the Christian faith where all are welcome, and one that challenges and equips students, faculty, and staff to pursue intellectual, spiritual, and personal growth through education and personal development.

Reporting Relationships & Responsibilities

The President of MHU is appointed by, and reports directly to, the Board of Trustees. Positions reporting directly to the President include Executive Vice President and Provost; Vice President for Finance and Administration; Vice President for Advancement; Vice President for Student Life; Director of Human Resources/Title IX Coordinator; Senior Director of Planning and Strategy; University Chaplain; Athletic Director, and an Executive Assistant to the President and Provost. Overall, the President provides leadership for the University’s over 200 employees including faculty and staff.

In addition to leading and fostering meaningful relationships internal to MHU, the President is expected to develop and maintain productive relationships with a wide variety of additional stakeholders, including but not limited to alumni; donors; local and regional community leaders; state and local educational and governmental leaders; corporate partners; and foundations.

As the Chief Executive Officer of the University, the President, working in conjunction with the Board, will be responsible for leading MHU’s strategic and operational initiatives by providing innovative and visionary leadership in academic, fiscal, administrative, and professional matters, relative to all faculty, staff, and students at the University.

The President should become personally invested in the future of MHU, being visible, present, accessible, and deeply engaged with students, faculty, and staff. Further, the President will need to actively engage with the town of Mars Hill and Madison County communities/stakeholders, as well as stakeholders in the greater western region of North Carolina. The President will also be expected to develop, build/nurture, and maintain significant, productive, and trusting relationships with all stakeholders to appropriately advocate for resources, financial and otherwise, to meet the needs of the University.

In addition to the broad responsibilities listed above, specific responsibilities include, but are not necessarily limited to:

• Lead the MHU community by fostering an environment where faith and reason meet, where knowledge, values, and skills are developed through a liberal arts education rooted in freedom balanced with responsibility, where character and service to others is fostered, and where the connection to the world of work comes through the idea of vocation (or calling). This sense of community should permeate the University’s life so that all students, faculty, and staff, regardless of religious background, are respected, welcomed, and positioned to thrive.
• Provide strategic and operational leadership and direction to make MHU a thriving, sustainable institution.
• Provide exceptional, transparent leadership, including recruiting, retaining, managing, motivating, and evaluating a professional staff, which in turn provides leadership through all functional disciplines associated with the University. Actively, meaningfully, visibly, and frequently engage with faculty and staff.
• Provide strategic, financial, and operational leadership and oversight in budgeting, fiscal management, and administration to maximize the effective and efficient acquisition and use of resources.
• Provide leadership, along with the Executive Vice President and Provost, in recruiting, retaining, and motivating a high-quality faculty committed to the mission and vision of MHU; promote and foster shared governance and academic excellence; and strive to build, realign, and/or strengthen academic programs to be responsive to the current and future needs of students and faculty.
• Aggressively champion the MHU experience; promote initiatives to attract qualified students and meet enrollment goals and increase retention.
• Actively lead and participate in fundraising and development activities; major gift solicitations; grow the endowment; create, sustain, and build trusting relationships with multiple and diverse external constituencies to increase and diversify revenue streams; working in conjunction with the Board of Trustees, build a sustainable financial model for the University.
• Understand the importance of, and show support for, the arts, athletics, student activities, and student organizations; support activities consistent with helping students to have a transformational educational experience.
• Actively engaging with the student body (e.g., visible on campus; attend/participate in a variety of events on campus); serve as a role model for students.
• Serve as the face of the University and seek appropriate opportunities to promote and market the University in the community, the region, and nationally via the media, public relations activities, community activities, etc.; be active and visible in the local and regional community.
• Maintain regular and consistent contact with alumni, faculty, staff, and the student body to facilitate open communication; listen to ideas and concerns; collaborate in development of opportunities and solutions.
• Suggest, develop, and implement strategies and/or directives as approved or determined by the Board of Trustees.
• Seek professional development opportunities and encourage others to take advantage of opportunities to further enhance professional knowledge, skills, effectiveness, and competence.

Requirements

Preferred qualifications include the following:

• Passion and enthusiasm for, and commitment to, the mission and vision of MHU University.
• Espouse and model leadership principles based on integrity, honesty, trust, transparency, sincerity, inclusiveness, collaboration, humility, servant leadership, approachability, accessibility, and compassion; a leader who inspires individuals to be their best; ability to recruit, retain, and/or develop leaders who do the same; a unifier.
• Visionary, strategic, and creative thinker; able to think innovatively and explore new ideas especially (while honoring MHU’s heritage) in the areas of enrollment management, academic affairs, and fiscal affairs; understand the changing landscape in higher education, especially private higher education (ideally in rural and challenged socioeconomic locales); politically savvy.
• Proven record of successful leadership and managerial skills, whether within or outside of an academic environment; ability to give and receive constructive feedback and hold herself/himself and others accountable; understanding of shared governance and the importance of collaboration and buy-in.
• Exceptional people skills and interpersonal abilities; accessible; energetic and enthusiastic; able to build and maintain close relationships and engender trust; willing and eager to use these attributes to enthusiastically promote the University, for stakeholder relations, and for financial development.
• Excellent communication skills; listens well; appreciates and considers suggestions and ideas of others.
• Ability to be an effective fundraiser; preference for successful experience leading fundraising in support of endowment, programs, and/or facilities.
• Good business management skills along with a strong financial acumen.
• Appreciation for, and desire to be part of, a student-focused community that is focused on the quality and value of all students and their success.
• Appreciation, and understanding, of the significant role of intercollegiate athletics in the life of MHU.
• Willingness to make decisions, including difficult but necessary decisions; willingness to take appropriate risks.
• Desires to be involved in campus activities and participate in the activities of the greater Mars Hill community and Madison County, as well as the state and surrounding region.
• Appropriate academic credentials; strong preference for a terminal degree; however, interested individuals with outstanding success in business or a professional career, outside of academics, are encouraged to apply.

Compensation

Compensation will be commensurate with experience including a competitive base salary, housing allowance, car allowance, and benefits package.

To make a nomination, provide a referral, or for additional information, please use the contact information below. While applications and nominations will be accepted until a successful candidate has been appointed, interested individuals are encouraged to submit their materials as soon as possible for full consideration. The preferred start date will be at the beginning of the 2026 – 27 academic year.

To apply, please submit a resume and/or vita, and cover letter, to: MHUPresident@buffkinbaker.com

Ken Carrick, Partner
Janny DeLoache, Associate Partner

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), MHU provides reasonable accommodation to qualified applicants and employees with disabilities unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the organization or would change the essential functions of the job. MHU is committed to hiring faculty and staff who fully support MHU’s mission. Minorities and women are encouraged to apply. In accordance with federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race color, national origin, age, disability, religion, sex, familial status, sexual orientation, and reprisal.