When walking around campus, Mark Gordon, 52, can be easily identified by the faded purple and gold hat with Defiance College’s logo that he wears.FORT WAYNE – Former IPFW Chancellor Michael Wartell is one of three finalists to lead the University of Northern Iowa.
According to the university’s website, Wartell will visit the university early next week with a public forum scheduled during his visit. Also in the running are William Ruud, president of Shippensburg University, and Avijit Ghosh, senior adviser to the president of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.
Wartell is serving a one-year sabbatical, or a leave of absence for research or training, after retiring as IPFW chancellor in July. Wartell was forced to retire by Purdue University due to a mandatory retirement age of 65, despite a request from IPFW to allow Wartell to stay. He is also a tenured chemistry professor at IPFW, which enrolls about 13,700 students.
The University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls boasts an enrollment of more than 12,000 students and employs about 650 full-time faculty. It is one of three state-supported universities in Iowa, according to its website.
