After two years of leading Harris-Stowe State University, President Albert Walker has retired, the university’s Board of Regents announced on Friday.
The board has named Constance Gully, a longtime executive vice president for business and financial affairs, as interim president. Her appointment is effective immediately.
The board will launch a search for a new president soon, and the regents expect to select a new leader before the 2014 fall semester.
“We are very grateful for Dr. Walker’s leadership and service at Harris-Stowe,” said Thelma V. Cook, chairwoman of the Board of Regents.
Walker was appointed Harris-Stowe president in August 2011, succeeding Dr. Henry Givens Jr., who had served as president for 32 years. Walker informed the board of his decision to retire this month in a letter, according to a press release.
“I wish to thank you, the Board of Regents, faculty, staff and students for allowing me the opportunity to serve the university and the citizens of Missouri,” Walker stated in the letter. “I have enjoyed working at the university and the opportunity to make a positive difference in the education of our students.”
Before coming to Harris-Stowe, Walker was the president of Bluefield State College in Bluefield, Va. Walker also held various positions in higher education, including vice president for academic affairs at Harris-Stowe State University.
He served, for six years, as the assistant commissioner of education in the Division of Urban and Teacher Education for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Jefferson City, Mo.
“He was very supportive of the students,” Gully said. “It was good to work with him.”
The board notified Gully on Thursday about Walker’s retirement and offered her the interim position.
“It was a big surprise,” Gully said. “I was nervous, but I have been at Harris Stowe for 15 years, and it’s very important to me. Basically my response was, ‘Whatever is needed for me to serve, I’ll do it.’”
Gully first served as comptroller and since 2001 as vice president for business and financial affairs. More recently, she has served as an executive vice president. She came to Harris-Stowe after practicing public accounting for 10 years, specializing in auditing and management consulting for government and not-for-profit clients.
Students will be back on campus next week, and she is excited about that.
“I look forward to working with students, faculty, staff and the overall St. Louis community to continue Harris-Stowe’s proud tradition of excellence in education,” Gully said. “We will continue to foster and embrace our community partnerships.”
Gully led the campus expansion committee that oversaw the planning and construction of the university’s most recently built facilities.
“Constance Gully has been a vital force for the growth and development of Harris-Stowe as a full-service university for more than a decade, and she is widely respected on campus as a sensible, capable leader,” Cook said. “We know she is the collaborative leader to continue the university’s progress during this transition time.”
In addition to her campus roles, Gully is an active leader in the St. Louis community, serving on Metro’s Board of Commissioners to oversee the region’s transit agency, chairing the Dr. Martin Luther King State Celebration Committee, as well as serving on the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Zoo Association and the United Way Women’s Leadership Cabinet for Education.
She is married to Andre Gully and has a son, Nicholas.
Cook said, “We are confident that during the search process we will attract an outstanding president to bring vision, growth and excellence to Harris-Stowe for the benefit of the St. Louis region.”
