On Thursday, Taylor announced P. Lowell Haines as the president-elect of the university following the retirement of standing president, Eugene Habecker, in June 2016. The following is a press release from Taylor:
Upland, Ind. - The Taylor University Board of Trustees announced today it has selected alumnus and longtime Indianapolis lawyer P. Lowell Haines as President-Elect of Taylor. Haines, also a member of Taylor's Board for the past 13 years, will assume his presidential role on June 1, 2016, and replaces outgoing Taylor President Dr. Eugene B. Habecker.
It marks a return to the Taylor campus for Haines, a 1975 Taylor graduate, who served the first 10 years of his professional career there. During those years, he served as Vice President for Student Development (1985-87), Dean of Students (1983-85), Director of Student Programs (1980-83), and Residence Hall Director (1977-80).
For the past 25 years, Haines has practiced with one of the nation's largest law firms, Indianapolis-based Faegre Baker Daniels, the last 17 of which he served as partner. There, Haines has specialized in working with non-profit organizations and served as legal counsel to dozens of colleges and universities across the country. He also provided legal services to organizations exempt from federal and state income taxes including churches and faith-based organizations, private foundations, museums, fraternities, veterans' organizations, amateur athletic organizations, public charities of all types and other nonprofit organizations.
Haines' wife Sherry is a 1976 Taylor graduate, and has spent 35 years as an art teacher in public and private schools, the last 18 of which have been at Cathedral High School in Indianapolis.
"It is a wonderful privilege to return to Taylor University," said Haines. "Sherry and I met on this campus, spent the early years of our marriage here, and were grateful when our daughter decided to attend Taylor. Taylor University is a special, unique place where young women and men receive not only a world-class education, but are shaped for the rest of their lives to make an impact in this world. We are deeply grateful to the Board of Trustees for the trust they have placed in us and are looking forward to getting to work in the days to come."
"The Presidential Search Committee undertook a nationwide search with the assistance of CarterBaldwin, a search firm with wide experience in higher education," said Mark D. Taylor, Chairman of the Presidential Search Committee. "We evaluated nominations and applications from many wonderful candidates. And in the end, we landed in our own back yard. Lowell Haines has served on our Board of Trustees for 13 years, and he was elected Vice Chair in May. We are very pleased that our top candidate is already so closely attuned to Taylor University and everything it represents."
"As a Board, we sought a candidate who combined exemplary experience in higher education and a belief in the mission of Taylor University with a strong desire to impact the next generation of student leaders," said Dr. Wellington Chiu, Taylor's Board Chairman. "Working with Lowell on the Board has given all of us the opportunity to recognize his gifts and passion. We believe he not only will be able to lead Taylor University in an exceptional way, but he will also provide an important link and continuity to the outstanding accomplishments of Dr. Habecker."
"Marylou and I celebrate this new opportunity for Lowell and Sherry," said Habecker. "During the years of our presidency, and even long before that period, Lowell served with distinction as a tireless advocate for Taylor University - as a Vice President for Student Development, and later as a trustee and parent of a Taylor student. He has also been a strong, winsome voice for the larger spectrum of Christian higher education in this country. Marylou and I are praying with thanksgiving for Lowell and Sherry as they join the Taylor community, and we are certain that our students, faculty and staff will embrace them and love them. Our prayer is that they will enjoy a rich, fulfilling time of service here at Taylor."
"Lowell has been an exceptional colleague, leader and friend to all of us at Faegre Baker Daniels for many years," said Tom Froehle, Chief Operating Partner for Faegre Baker Daniels. "He is an outstanding lawyer and has committed his career to serving nonprofit organizations. That, combined with his love for Taylor University, makes him a perfect fit to serve as President. We wish him our very best on this new adventure."
Haines holds degrees from the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University (Doctor of Jurisprudence 1990, cum laude); Ball State University (Master of Arts, 1977), and Taylor University (Bachelor of Arts, 1975). He is currently completing a Doctor of Education degree at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pa.
In addition to Haines' Taylor Board membership, he holds and has held a number of other Board memberships including the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), Heartland Truly Moving Pictures, Inc., and Indianapolis Public Schools Education Foundation.
Honors accorded to Haines during his professional career include his naming to the list Best Lawyers in America/Indianapolis Education Lawyer of the Year, Editorship of the Indiana Law Journal, and the Stephen S. Bedi Award for Excellence in Service to Higher Education from Taylor University.
