On Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, Drury University officially announced that Dr. David Manuel was selected to lead the university as its 17th president. The selection was the result of a year-long search process.
Most recently, Dr. Manuel served as Chancellor and Professor of Economics at Louisiana State University Alexandria.
A native of Louisiana, David P. Manuel earned degrees in economics from Nicholls State University and a M.A. and Ph.D. from University of Mississippi; for thirty-seven years has served in several positions in higher education. He served for eight years (2000-2008) as Vice President for Academic Affairs at St. Mary’s University of San Antonio, TX and ten years before that, served as dean of the Bill Greehey School of Business.
Dr. Manuel began his academic career as a faculty member in the College of Business Administration at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and served as dean of the B. I. Moody College of Business from 1986-1990. On March 31, 2008 Dr. Manuel was named as the ninth Chancellor of Louisiana State University at Alexandria, LA.
Dr. Manuel has served in a number of national and regional leadership roles including president of the Southern Business Administration Association in 1995-1996 and as co-chair Leadership San Antonio in 1993-1994.
For six years, he served as a trustee, and, subsequently as vice chairman of the Board of Directors of Texas Public Radio.
For many years he worked closely with the AACSB, the peer accrediting agency for university business schools and in 2001-2003 he chaired the national Candidacy Committee.
Dr. Manuel served as a member of the Supervisory (Audit) Committee of the San Antonio Federal Credit Union, the 30th largest credit union in the United States with assets of $2.6 billion and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of CHRISTUS Health Central Louisiana (CHISTUS St. Frances Cabrini Hospital). He is also a graduate of Harvard University’s Management and Leadership in Higher Education Program.
Dr. Manuel has been active in several international educational initiatives in South America, Mexico, and Europe. Keeping with his long-term interest in internationalization, he was invited to serve as one of 50 chief academic officers on the American Council of Education (ACE)’s Chief Academic Officer Internationalization Forum in 2005-2007. From July 2010 to December 2011, he served on the ACE Commission on Effective Leadership.
Dr. Manuel has also served on accreditation teams for the SACS Commission on Colleges and the AACSB in the United States and South America. In December 2010, he was elected to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees of the SACS Commission on Colleges. He also currently serves as an elected member of the President’s Council of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
Manuel’s policy, research and teaching interests are in the areas of energy economics, international business, corporate strategy, business ethics, and international economics. His research has appeared in several journals, including Growth and Change, The Natural Resources Journal, The Journal of Energy and Development, and The Review of Regional Studies.
Dr. Manuel will begin his duties as president on June 1.
At its meeting on October 26, 2012, the Board of Trustees chose Dr. David P. Manuel as the 17th President of Drury University. He will begin his official duties on June 1, 2013, but he will be engaged in a seamless transition with President Todd Parnell and our campus community in the coming months.
Dr. Manuel comes to Drury after a successful four-year term as Chancellor and Professor of Economics at Louisiana State University Alexandria. At LSUA, he demonstrated the leadership skills that will be critical to maintaining our high academic standards while driving forward to continued success. Dave's unique blending of the liberal arts with the study of economics also served him well in his earlier positions as business school Dean and subsequently as Vice President for Academic Affairs at St. Mary's University in San Antonio.
Equally important, Dave has a Drury personality -- he understands
and appreciates the unique culture of Drury and the Southwest Missouri area. We have no doubt he will quickly become an integral part of the Springfield community as Drury continues to reach out and connect with our broader constituencies. Dave's wife, Betty Coe, has long been actively engaged in university and community endeavors. She will be a valued partner and asset to both Drury and the Ozarks.
Dr. Manuel will succeed our good friend Todd Parnell who is retiring on May 31, 2013, after a tremendously successful tenure as Drury's 16th President. On behalf of the entire Drury community, we thank Todd and Betty Parnell for their years of dedicated service, and we welcome Dave and Betty Coe Manuel as they join us to continue the great Drury tradition.
Regards,
Lynn Chipperfield
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
