By Jessie Gorges, editor

 Biff Green, Friends University’s president for nearly two decades, is retiring but not because he doesn’t get to spend enough time with his family.

“Family has always come first,” Green said.

He’s retiring in June 2011 because John Yoder, vice president of Academic Affairs, is retiring in 2012.

“The worst thing that could happen is if John and I left at the same time,” he said. “The gift that we are giving to the University is a seamless transition.”

Green said it will make for a smooth changeover to hire a new president and then a new vice president.
“The new president will have a role in selecting a new vice president,” Green said.

Though Green is retiring next year, it was earlier than he planned.

“Sixty-five is not the retiring age for me,” he said. “I would have been here for at least another year.”

Next year marks Green’s 20th year as president, and he said it will be nice to go out on top. Green has done several things to improve Friends. When he arrived, enrollment was 1,300. Now it’s 3,000. And the endowment was less than $3 million. Now it’s $50 million.

But it wasn’t sheer luck that helped Green improve campus. He has fundamental beliefs that have improved and maintained Friend’s financial health, like not spending beyond the University’s means and putting students first.

“Dr. Green has high integrity,” said Rod Pitts said, chairman of the board of trustees. “He’s very careful in his decision-making.

Pitts hopes to find a president like Green.

“We’ll be looking for someone who has strong financial integrity,” he said.

Like Pitts, Nancy Graf, executive assistant to the president, agrees that Green’s honesty has made him a successful president. In addition, Graf believes his closeness to the students sets him apart from other university presidents.

“He enjoys being with students,” Graf said. “He is Friends University.”

Graf said that Green has always been exceedingly involved with the students. Green and his wife, Binnie, attend most of the sporting events and other on-campus activities.

“He’s not just about fundraising or money,” Graf said. “He’s about the students and the facilities.”
Though Green will be missed on campus, he won’t be gone for long.

“I plan to go back to the classroom,” Green said.

He plans to teach leadership management at Friends after a short retirement.

As for a new president, recruiting will begin in the fall, and Green hopes that the University will have someone selected early in the spring semester.