Mills could be named president at Barton college
Final decision expected early next week
By Jordan Blum and Sarah Krebs
Skiff Staff

Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Don Mills could be named president of Barton College in North Carolina as soon as Monday following a vote by the college’s Board of Trustees Saturday, Barton College officials say.

Mills, one of three finalists for the president position, was brought to the college in Wilson, N.C., this week to meet with the presidential search committee and trustees, said Sydney Eagles, chairman of the Barton College Board and member of the search committee.

Mills said the college’s Board has not yet come to a decision and neither has he. He said it would be tough to leave TCU and that he wants to do what is best for his family.

“(Barton College) is a different kind of school than TCU,” he said. “It would provide different challenges. I owe it to at least look.”

However, TCU Trustee Ronald C. Parker said Mills told him that he had been offered the position.

“He is a qualified candidate and I am reasonably sure he’ll take the job,” Parker said. “When we talked last week he was in the mind frame to take it.”

Barton College Alumni Council President and Trustee Catherine Combs said no formal offer was made because the Board had not discussed the hiring. But she said Mills and his wife, Mitzi, were well received by the college.

The Wilson Daily Times reported Thursday that Mills was the “third and last candidate for the position” and that he stayed in Wilson from Tuesday to Thursday. Pamela Hughes, Mills’ executive assistant, said Mills was on vacation with his wife this week and would return today.

Mills said all his accomplishments were in the margins and that he wanted to have more of an affect on an institution’s core, according to the Wilson Daily Times. He also said he would never get that opportunity if he stayed at TCU.

Eagles said Mills made it to the top three out of 84 applicants because he has great experience, works well with the students and has good vision for the future.

“Any college who could get him would be doing themselves a favor,” Eagles said.
Chancellor Michael Ferrari said the position is a wonderful tribute to Mills and to TCU.

Ferrari said Thursday he had not yet talked to Mills and did not know whether Mills had been offered the position or his decision. He said Mills’ application to Barton College had nothing to do with the new chancellor coming to TCU.

“He showed interest in part because of the Disciples of Christ tradition as well as the challenge of the position,” Ferrari said. “He is an outstanding academic and educational leader.”

President James B. Hemby Jr., who worked at Barton College for 43 years as a professor, department chairman and provost, will retire after being president for 20 years.

Mills, who has been with TCU since 1969, earned his undergraduate education from Harvard University and graduate degrees from TCU and the University of North Texas, according to the TCU Web site.

Barton College is a four-year, co-educational, liberal arts college with about 1,300 students, according to the college Web site. The college is affiliated with the Christian

Church (Disciples of Christ) and is a NCAA Division II school, according to its Web site.
Staff Reporter Crystal Forester contributed to this story.

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