QU Introduces Presidential Search Committee

Quincy University has announced the formation of a Presidential Search Committee to select the school’s 24^th president. Current President, Phil Conover, will serve the University through May of 2019. A new president is expected to be announced at the beginning of 2019. The committee is under the leadership of Board of Trustee member Michael F. McClain.

The presidential search committee is comprised of 21 members: Mary Argana, Marty Bell, Fr. John Doctor, Tammy Duesterhaus, Jean Green, Gino Grivetti, Dr. Kimberly Hale, Lynn House, Maureen Kahn, Michael McClain, Bill Metzinger, Del Mitchell, Jerry Murphy, Fr. Tom Nairn, Kristi Shelton, Theresa Spear, John Stevenson, Jr., Bryan Stokes, Dr. Daniel Strudwick, Scott Thoele and Mary Winters.

Mary Argana, of Festus, MO, currently serves as the vice president for Quincy University’s Student Government Association (SGA). In addition to SGA, Argana is also involved as a Connect Mentor, spiritual mentor, a member of the Criminal Justice Society, mock trial team and is a resident advisor. She is a part of the 3 x 3 SLU Law program and anticipates graduation from QU in 2019. After Quincy University, she plans to attend St. Louis University for Law. Argana is also involved in volunteer work and has participated in the Biloxi, Mississippi mission trip; Big Brother, Big Sister and visits to the Shady Oaks nursing home.

Marty Bell received a business administration degree from the University of South Carolina in 1985. He then earned his master’s degree from Penn State University while serving as the associate head basketball coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Bell has also coached at Lock Haven University and Drake University. In 2003 Bell became the 14^th head coach for QU’s Men’s Basketball Program and in 2007 assumed the duties of athletic director in addition to his coaching responsibilities. During his career at QU, Quincy athletics had their most successful overall season in 2010-2011, finishing third in the GLVC Commissioner’s Cup, their highest finish ever. Quincy also had five of their seven GLVC core sports advance to the national tournament, another school record. He retired from coaching in 2017, finishing with 240 victories, placing him second among all QU basketball coaches for victories. He now serves as vice president for intercollegiate athletics at Quincy University. Bell is married to Julie Bell, vice president for University Advancement.

Fr. John Doctor, OFM, has been a member of the Order of Friars Minor since 1969. In 1976, he was ordained a Franciscan priest. Doctor holds a master’s degree from Duquesne University in ongoing spiritual formation. Since being ordained, he has served his Province as a high school teacher, initial formation director, pastor, retreat director, spiritual director, Provincial Vicar, and Provincial Minister. Fr. John has served six years on the Board of Directors for Franciscans International and 15 years on the Board of Trustees for Quincy University. While serving as Provincial Minister, he was an active member of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, first as a board member and then as vice president. He is presently chair of the Honora M. Cullinan Foundation, which awards grant money to assist the poor, the marginalized and forgotten. Doctor currently serves as the vice president of mission and ministry at Quincy University.

Tammy Duesterhaus joined the Quincy University staff in 1996 as a secretary for the Social Work Department. When offices moved to Main Campus, Duesterhaus became the
administrative assistant to Dr. Barb Schleppenbach. She later served as the administrative assistant to Pat Laytham. Tammy currently serves as the admissions visit coordinator. She was named the Employee of the Month, January 2002, and a recipient of a Franciscan Service Award in 2012. On nights and weekends, she works at the Salvation Army Kroc Center. In addition to her work at QU and the Kroc Center, Duesterhaus has previously worked at Yellow Freight Systems and M&J Machine Company. Duesterhaus has two children and one grandchild.

Jean Green is an alumna, as are her husband, Steve, Class of ’78, and three of her four sons. After graduating in ’79, with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Green was employed as an accountant at Two Rivers Council in Quincy. In 1980, she was hired as the assistant business manager and chief accountant at QU. Since then, she has held several positions at Quincy University, including her current position, associate vice president for finance and controller. She received the QU Service Award in 2000 and the Outstanding Employee award in 2008. Green was a member of the HLC steering committee in 2009 and the co-chair of the 2010 Strategic Planning Committee.

Gino Grivetti a is senior at Quincy University double majoring in business management and theology. Grivetti is currently serving as QU’s Student Government Association (SGA) president and is involved with Campus Ministry and CEO Club (Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization). Last summer, he set up a GoFundMe page that started an emergency campaign to prevent his Catholic grade school from permanently closing. The campaign raised over $530,000 by the one-week deadline, $130,000 over the initial goal and only $70,000 short of the total estimated renovation cost. Grivetti credits QU with giving him the skills to make a positive impact on his community.

Dr. Kimberly Hale earned a Doctorate in Biology with a concentration in immunology and a Master of Science in Biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She also earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from DePaul University. Prior to joining the QU faculty in 2006, Hale was an adjunct instructor at Russell Sage College and a guest lecturer at the State University of New York. She has been published in the Life Sciences and Neuroimmunomodulation journals and presented on a number of topics at the Upstate New York Immunology Conference. Hale joined QU as an assistant professor of biology in 2006. In 2008, she was the recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award. Hale and her husband, Tommy Kelley, have a daughter Haley and a deceased son, David Kelley.

Lynn House received a Bachelor of Arts from Kenyon College and a Master of Management degree from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management in International Economics and Finance. Prior to moving to Quincy, House served as assistant vice president of Swiss Bank Corporation, Chicago Branch. She has served on the Board of Cheerful Home, including two terms as chairman, as well the boards of Blessing Hospital, Illini Hospital and Blessing Corporate Services. She has also been involved with WQEC-TV, Voices for Illinois Children, the Historical Society for Quincy and Adams County and at St. John’s Episcopal Church. She is currently a member of Friends in Council, the oldest incorporated woman’s literary society in the country founded in 1866 by Sarah Denman (who also founded Blessing Hospital) and the Community Foundation Board.

Maureen A. Kahn, RN, MHA, MSN received a Bachelor of Science in Business and Health Administration in 1984 from Gwynedd-Mercy College in Pennsylvania and a Master of Science in Nursing in 2007 from University of Phoenix. She is currently employed at Blessing Hospital as president and chief executive officer and has been with Blessing since May 1995. Kahn is a board member for the Transitions Foundation and the United Way of Adams County Inc. She and her husband, Bernard “Barney”, live in Quincy, Ill.

Michael F. McClain is a current member of Quincy University’s Board of Trustees and is chair of the Presidential Search Committee. He served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1972-1983 and was the assistant democratic leader in the General Assembly. McClain’s professional life was as a lawyer and lobbyist in Illinois. McClain is a life director for the Quincy Notre Dame Foundation. In 2011, he received the Distinguished Citizen Award from the Mississippi Valley Council 141 Boy Scouts of America. McClain’s wife, Lucinda McClain, is a 1971 Quincy College graduate. Lucinda served nine years as a trustee on the Board where she was also the chair. They have three children, Patrick (Sarah), Colleen (Billy) and Daniel (Melissa) and six grandchildren. Mike and Lucinda are representatives of the “Michael and Lucinda McClain”, “Tom and Bette Awerkamp” and “Mac and Marge McClain” scholarships at Quincy University.

Bill Metzinger served on the Quincy University Board of Trustees from 1999 to 2002, from 2004-13 and again 2015 to present.  As chairman of the Board in 2006-07, during a period of key change for Quincy University, Metzinger was instrumental in the presidential search and ultimate hiring of a QU President, Robert Gervasi.  He received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Quincy College in 1974 and is a certified public accountant.  Metzinger was the chief financial officer of Dot Foods, Inc. for 24 years and is currently the chief financial officer of Dot Family Holdings, LLC.  Prior to joining the Dot organization, Metzinger was president and chief executive officer of St. Mary Hospital in Quincy Ill.  Metzinger and his wife, Sue, have two children and three grandchildren.

Del Mitchell is the past chairman of Schmiedeskamp Robertson Neu & Mitchell LLP and practices in a wide range of areas in law. He has been a member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Illinois, College of Law. He is chairman of the Quincy Area Project, chairman of the CFM Foundation and past chairman and present member of the Board of his church, The Crossing. Mitchell is also the vice chair of Quincy University’s Board of Trustees. He is married to Barb and they have two children.

Jerry Murphy is a 1970 Quincy University alumnus. In 1972, he received his master’s degree from Western Illinois University. Since then, Murphy has served as the senior vice president of operations at DeVry University, an executive consultant at DeVry Education Group, a commissioner and vice chair of a national (US) accrediting agency and is a former chair, and current member, of the Board of Trustees at Quincy University. He currently serves as a consultant and recognized higher education leader with broad knowledge of US and international markets. Murphy and his wife, Mary Jo, a 1970 QU alumna, have four children.

The Rev. Thomas Nairn, OFM, graduated from Quincy College in 1971, double majoring in philosophy and psychology. He is the Provincial Minister of the Friars’ of the Sacred Heart Province and serves as chair on Quincy University’s Board of Trustees. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago Divinity School and has taught at St. Bonaventure University in N.Y.; Yara Theological Union in Melbourne, Australia; St. Thomas University in St. Paul, Minn. and Holy Trinity College in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Kristi Shelton graduated Quincy University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. While in school, Shelton was a part of Sigma Beta Delta, Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society and graduated Summa Cum Laude. Since graduation, she has been employed as an accounting clerk in the Treasurer’s office and is currently a part of accounts receivables in the Business Office at Quincy University. Shelton is also in her second term as village trustee for the Village of Payson and very active in fundraising for Payson-Seymour athletics. She has been married to her husband, Brad, for 18 years and has three children and one grandchild.

Theresa Spear and her husband, Jeff Spear, a former Quincy University Board of Trustees member, were co-chairmen of the 2015-16 QU Fund campaign and lifelong supporters of Quincy University. Theresa is a native of Quincy, Ill. and attended Quincy Notre Dame High School. She was a 1979 graduate of Worsham College of Mortuary Science. A passion for art led her to complete a Bachelor of Fine Art degree in Studio Art from Quincy University in 1996. Jeff Spear is also a Quincy native and a 1979 graduate from Worsham College of Mortuary Science. Jeff and Theresa have provided integral leadership for the Hansen-Spear Funeral Home. The Spear family has been involved with the Hansen-Spear Funeral Home in Quincy since 1955. Theresa and Jeff have three sons – William, Nicholas and their Estonian son, Kristjan Makke. Theresa is a current member of the QU Board of Trustees. The Spears established the Jeff & Theresa Spear Scholarship in 2002 and the George and Charlotte Spear Scholarship in 2014.

John Stevenson, Jr. and wife, Dale (Gossard) Stevenson, are graduates of DePauw University. He is a member of the QU Planned Giving Advisory Committee. John also serves on the Board of Directors of the CFM Foundation, the J.W. Gardner II Foundation and the Quincy Area Project. Stevenson and his family served as the 2014 Christmas Campaign chairs with the Quincy Salvation Army. John and Dale have two sons, Jack and Alec.

Bryan Stokes attended the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He graduated from Illinois State University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing. Stokes has been the president of Quincy Recycle since 1997. He is a member of Young Presidents Organization, sits on the Board of the CFM Foundation, State Street Bank & Trust Company and has been active in numerous other Quincy area organizations. Bryan is married to Brooke (Doyle) Stokes, a 1999 graduate from Quincy University. They are members of Saint Peter Church. They have two children at Saint Peter School and two at Quincy Notre Dame.

Dr. Daniel Strudwick joined the QU faculty in 2008. Strudwick received his bachelor’s degree at St. Meinrad College. He also traveled to the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome to receive his Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus (STB), Bachelor of Sacred Theology. Strudwick received his master’s and doctorate from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He currently serves as the associate professor of theology; director of the honors program and chair of the Division of Humanities. Studwick and his wife have three children.

Scott Thoele graduated from Quincy College in 1980 with an accounting degree and is the president of the National Alumni Board. He is the internal audit manager at First Bankers Trust Company in Quincy. Thoele is a retired major general in the Army National Guard where he received multiple honors and awards. His wife, Paula (Wensing) Thoele is also a QU alumna, as are all four of their children.

Mary Oakley Winters is a life-long Quincyan with a passion for community service.  After studying journalism at the University of Missouri from 1978-81, she joined Quincy Media on the newspaper-side of the business.  In 2007 she started the interactive division for Quincy Media and in 2017, launched ‘Quincify’, a digital marketing agency, as the newest division for QMI.  Winters has been involved in fundraising and committee work for the YMCA, the Quincy Art Center, the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County, John Wood Community College, Friends of Woodland Cemetery, the Good News of Christmas, Trees for Tomorrow and serves on the Board of Trustees for Blessing Health Services and the steering committee for the Quincy, Ill. Strategic Plan. Winters has three sons, Tom, Ben and Jonathan Van Ness and a step-daughter Jennifer Reekie along with 8 active grandchildren.