New President

David McInally has been selected as the 15^th president in the 160-year history of Coe College. McInally, who currently serves as executive vice president and treasurer at Allegheny College, in Meadville, Pa., will take office on July 1, 2013. He succeeds James Phifer, who is retiring next year after serving 18 years as president of the college.

The appointment was made after a unanimous vote by the Coe College Board of Trustees at its Oct. 19 meeting and was announced by Dave Carson, chair of the Board of Trustees and a member of the Coe College Presidential Search Committee.

"The Coe College Board of Trustees was unequivocally impressed with Dr. McInally’s breadth and depth of experience at a highly successful college that is similar to Coe," said Carson. "His commitment to private, residential, liberal arts education is evident and his enthusiastic commitment to help Coe achieve the next level of success is clear. We are confident that he will be an outstanding president of Coe."

Dr. McInally has spent his entire professional career in higher education and has been at Allegheny College since 1986. During the succeeding years, he has taken on increasing levels of responsibility and has extensive experience in all aspects of college operations.

"My deepest professional ambition is to serve a private residential college with a genuine emphasis on academic excellence and a commitment to the highest quality of teaching in and out of the classroom," said McInally. "Many aspects of the Coe presidency have a strong appeal for me and I am honored to be chosen as the next leader of the college."

Carson, a 1972 Coe alumnus, also praised the steadfast work of the Coe Presidential Search Committee, which was comprised of trustees, faculty, staff and students. The committee was formed last December and was led by Gene Henderson, Coe class of 1968, who is also the outgoing chair of the Coe Board of Trustees.

At Allegheny, McInally was initially the assistant dean of students, then named associate dean of students. In 1992, he was promoted to dean of students and was responsible for residence life, diversity affairs, international programs, career services, counseling, health services, religious life, security, athletics and recreation, student activities and food service.

From 2001 to 2006, McInally served as secretary of Allegheny College, responsible for college communications, human resources, student affairs, athletics and recreation, public affairs, strategic planning, and coordination with the Board of Trustees. In 2006, he became vice president for finance and planning, where he kept his former duties and became responsible for the budget, investments, accounting and financial services.

Since 2010, he has served as executive vice president and treasurer at Allegheny, where he manages a $107 million operating budget and a $160 million endowment. In addition to the overall budget, investments, student affairs, athletics, physical plant and food service oversight, he also coordinated the college communications team of enrollment, development, information technology, athletics, media, publications and public relations.

McInally has had primary leadership responsibility to move Allegheny ahead on several fronts over the past few years. He authored and coordinated the college’s last two strategic plans. In addition, he has implemented a comprehensive multi-year financial model and helped to grow the college by 200 students. McInally has been a successful advocate for increasing faculty and staff salaries, and has been heavily involved with Allegheny’s current $200 million capital campaign.

The new Coe president has a passion for sustainability issues, and has been a leader in green activities on the Allegheny campus. He has presented at college and university sustainability conferences and authored several articles and papers on the topic. McInally is the co-author of "Greening the Campus: The Economic Advantages of Research and Dialogue," which was accepted for the World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities.

In the college classroom, McInally has taught courses in liberal studies, writing and English composition.

At Allegheny, he has received many awards, most notably the Outstanding Student Organization Advisor Award and the Robert T. Sherman Distinguished Service Award. He is a member of the National Association of College and University Business Officers and is active with the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment and the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania.

McInally earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and a Master of Arts degree in English language and literature, both from the University of Akron. He received his Doctor of Education degree from the University of Pittsburgh in administrative and policy studies. His dissertation topic was "Liberal Education in American Research Universities."

McInally is also actively involved in the Meadville community, including as an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He and his wife, Janice, are parents of two children - Will and Susannah - who are both in college. The family will reside in the historic Pleasant Hill Coe president's home.

Members of the Coe College Presidential Search Committee were: (Trustees) - Gene Henderson '68 (chair), Dave Carson '72, Ken Golder '82, Shirley Hughes '67, Mary Jeanne Krob '73, John Strohm '79, (faculty) Louie J. and Ella Pochobradsky Associate Professor of Business Administration David Hayes '93, Associate Professor of Political Science Kimberly Lanegran, (staff) Director of Alumni Programs Jean Johnson, (students) Hailley Fargo '14 and Maxwell Stanford '14.

To see a photo gallery of today's introduction, click here.

To view the video of Dr. McInally's speech, click here.

To view a webpage with complete information, click here.