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Univ. of Mobile president Tim Smith resigns


MOBILE, Ala. (BP) — Tim Smith, president of the University of Mobile since May 2016, has resigned, according to a news release issued by the university.

Smith “cited personal reasons” for his resignation, the university’s March 1 news release stated, providing no further information. A university spokesperson contacted by Baptist Press cited the news release as the only information being made available.

Trustees announced after a March 1 meeting that interim leadership for the university was named and a nationwide search for a new president will begin.

Current trustee chairman Fred Wilson was named interim president with David Conner becoming trustee chairman.

President Emeritus Mark Foley, who led the university for 18 years until his retirement in 2016, “will serve as a consultant while the search begins for the university’s fifth president,” the news release stated.

The university, founded in 1961, is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist Convention and has more than 1,600 students in undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs.

Wilson has served on the trustee board for more than 12 years and was beginning his third term as chairman. He retired in 2017 as a partner in P.J. Lumber Co. of Mobile where he handled international sales and export marketing.

Conner is an attorney with Blackburn & Connor P.C., headquartered in Bay Minette, Ala.

“The Board of Trustees is committed to building on the university’s forward momentum,” Wilson was quoted as saying in the news release. “Immediately having leadership in place who are already knowledgeable about the university will enable University of Mobile to continue its mission without missing a beat.”

Smith, who led the University of Mobile for nearly three years, previously was provost at Anderson University in South Carolina from 2015-2016, serving there in 2014 as vice president of strategic initiatives. He led Union University’s nursing program in Tennessee from 2005-2014.