Caldwell University President Blattner to Step Down June 2020

Caldwell University Beginning an Immediate Search 

Caldwell, N.J., Sept. 9, 2019 – Caldwell University President Nancy Blattner has informed the Caldwell University Board of Trustees that she will conclude her presidency at the end of this academic year, in June 2020, coinciding with the terms of her current contract. Dr. Blattner has been appointed the next president at Fontbonne University in her home state of Missouri and will assume that new role on July 1, 2020. 

Caldwell’s Board of Trustees will begin an immediate search for the university’s next president.

Laurita Warner, Chair of the Caldwell University Board of Trustees, said the university is grateful to Dr. Blattner for her leadership over the last 10 years.  “With Dr. Blattner’s energy and initiative, the university has achieved many significant milestones and Caldwell students have flourished because of her care, understanding, and belief in them.”  

Dr. Blattner said she is grateful for having had the chance to be a part of the Caldwell family.  “From the moment Tim and I first stepped foot on the Caldwell campus during the interview process, we felt a sense of community and an appreciation for the institution’s Catholic Dominican mission. When we moved to New Jersey more than 10 years ago, we left behind family and friends as we immersed ourselves in a new tradition, and now, it is time in our personal lives to return to those who remained in Missouri. I am grateful for the people who welcomed us, for the experiences we’ve shared with the campus community, for outstanding colleagues on the leadership team, and for the opportunity to lead a vibrant campus that lives out its mission and puts students at the center of its existence.”

Dr. Blattner is the university’s first lay president. Her many accomplishments at Caldwell have included: 

• Achieving university status.
• Boosting undergraduate enrollment in welcoming Caldwell University’s largest freshman classes in 2017, 2018 and 2019. 
• Leading in advancing Caldwell University’s rankings on the U.S. News &  World Report Best Colleges lists. 
• Overseeing the creation of state-of-the-art nursing labs and the new Eileen Jones Multicultural Center.
• Overseeing the implementation of new academic programs and athletic sports including sprint football and men’s lacrosse. 
• Innovatively repurposing building space in many areas on campus.
• Relocating and overseeing the construction for the campus chapel in a central location for students, faculty, staff and visitors.  
• Starting the mission trips to Belize, the annual community service Caldwell Day to give back to the borough of Caldwell and the State of New Jersey, the study-abroad course in Rome and the Dominican Formation Program for faculty and staff.
• Advancing Caldwell University and higher education in her service on state and national higher education organizations and in establishing relationships with donors and alumni and in the community.