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DelVal U. president retiring

The president of Delaware Valley University is stepping down. The university confirmed Friday that Joseph S. Brosnan, who has led the Doylestown school since August 2007, would be retiring.

Joseph Brosnan is retiring as president of Delaware Valley University. (Photo from delval.edu)
Joseph Brosnan is retiring as president of Delaware Valley University. (Photo from delval.edu)Read more

The president of Delaware Valley University is stepping down.

The university confirmed Friday that Joseph S. Brosnan, who has led the Doylestown school since August 2007, would be retiring.

His retirement is effect Aug. 31, 2016, the university said.

"As I begin my ninth year at DelVal, it has been and continues to be my honor and privilege to serve as president," Brosnan said in a statement. "As I reach another milestone in my life, it is clear that this will be the right time for me to devote more time to my family, including my wife, Carla, my mother, Mary, who is now in her 90s, my children and my grandchildren."

DelVal said a national search for its next president would begin later this summer.

After his retirement as president, Brosnan, 69, will consult part-time for DelVal and teach in its higher-education doctoral program.

A key point for the school under Brosnan's tenure came in April, when Delaware Valley College officially became Delaware Valley University.

The change in classification marked the 2,000-student efforts to expand its graduate-level programs.

Other high points of his term leading the school include the launch of DelVal's first doctoral program and a $50 million fund-raising campaign, which included a gift of cash and land worth $31 million, the largest donation in school history.

Brosnan, who is the school's 12th president, came to DelVal from Columbia University's Teachers College, where he was the vice president for strategic planning and external affairs. He has also served as an administrator at Belmont Abbey College, St. Bonaventure University, the Potsdam College Foundation for the State University of New York at Potsdam and Marist College.

His planned departure was first disclosed in an interview with the Intelligencer.