SAN ANTONIO – Trinity University has announced that its 20th president will be the first woman selected for that role.
Dr. Vanessa Beasley will join the private university on the North Side of San Antonio by the fall semester. She is replacing President Danny Anderson, who announced in the fall that he was retiring.
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Anderson, who was with the institution for seven years, officially retired on Monday.
Beasley most recently worked at Vanderbilt University as vice provost for academic affairs, dean of residential faculty, and as an associate professor of communication studies, according to a news release.
But she’s familiar with Texas: she received a Ph.D. in speech communication from the University of Texas at Austin after she earned a bachelor of arts in speech communication and theatre arts from Vanderbilt.
The release states that Beasley’s academic expertise includes the rhetoric of American presidents, political rhetoric on immigration, and media and politics.
“Dr. Beasley is an outstanding leader with strong values who will guide Trinity in its quest to become a nationally recognized liberal arts university,” Melody Meyer, Trinity Board of Trustees chair and Trinity alumna, said in the release. “She has deep experience in academic excellence and is exceptional at building relationships locally and nationally.”
Earlier this year, Trinity University was reclassified by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education as a National Liberal Arts institution.
Under Anderson’s tenure, the school ranked as the No. 1 regional university of the West in U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 best colleges rankings. It was the 29th time the university made the ranking in the past 30 years.
A committee comprised of board members, faculty, staff, students and alumni was established to search for the new president.
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