President-elect Laurie Joyner addressed faculty and staff inside Old St. Joseph Church, detailing her excitement to join the SNC community.

Laurie M. Joyner Named St. Norbert’s Ninth President

Laurie M. Joyner will become St. Norbert College’s next president, taking the helm on July 12, 2023, after Thomas Kunkel led the college on an interim basis for one year.

“I am honored and humbled to have been selected as the ninth president of St. Norbert College. The college’s rich Catholic, Norbertine tradition and deep commitment to the liberal arts is powerful in preparing graduates for lives of meaning, leadership and service,” Joyner says. “SNC is a well-respected college based on its reputation of academic excellence, engaged students, an abundance of faculty and staff talent, a strong sense of community, and successful graduates who maintain strong connections with the college.”

Joyner was introduced to the college community Feb. 10 in Old St. Joe’s.

“Dr. Joyner brings a wealth of presidential experience to St. Norbert College,” says Fred Schmidt ’75, chair of the college’s board of trustees. “More importantly, she possesses the skill, passion and values that the college needs in its next leader.”

“As a community, we look forward to working with Laurie in sharing and growing the Norbertine tradition and values at St. Norbert College,” says Abbot Dane Radecki ’72.

Joyner, who will be the first woman to lead the college in its 125-year history, is bringing extensive leadership experience to the college. She leaves St. Xavier University in Chicago, where she has been president since 2017. Prior to St. Xavier, Joyner served as president of Wittenberg University in Ohio and in multiple vice presidential and dean roles at Rollins College in Florida.

Joyner has served on the faculty and held administrative positions at Loyola University New Orleans, where she also earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology, graduating magna cum laude. She received her master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology from Tulane University, also in New Orleans.

A noted leader in Catholic higher education, Joyner was recently elected to the board of the Association of Catholic Colleges & Universities. She is a two-time recipient of POWER 50 (2014, 2015), an award honoring the most influential female executives in the Dayton, Ohio, region, and received the Woman of Distinction Leadership Award from the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio in October 2014.

In addition to her numerous published works, she has participated as a keynote speaker and expert panelist for national conferences on a range of areas, including higher education trends and challenges, leadership development, nonprofit governance, and effective university-community partnerships.

Joyner and her husband, Jay Joyner, have three sons: Jay, Alexander and Christopher.

“I am looking forward to collaboratively building on the extraordinary accomplishments of the college, and to becoming fully engaged in the De Pere and Green Bay communities,” Joyner says.

March 7, 2023