New Elmhurst College president brings 'energy,' diverse background to job

Troy VanAken's mom used to see a minister-in-the-making in her young son.

"And I would kind of smile and say well, 'I don't think so mom,'" VanAken said.

Instead, he found another kind of vocation: "to work with students during this important time in their lives."

"And I will bring a lot of energy and passion," VanAken told a crowd Thursday at Elmhurst College, where he was introduced as the 14th president in the school's history.

Faculty and college leaders who helped select VanAken called him an accessible community-builder they hope will raise the profile of the private school. The Michigan native brings a diverse background in college athletics, as a math professor and as an "innovator" who started and sold a software company, said Barbara Lucks, chairwoman of Elmhurst College's board of trustees.

"You can see we were fortunate to have a leader that has worked in so many areas that are crucial to a successful college," Lucks told the gathering.

VanAken currently serves as president of Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania, a rural town about 80 miles from Pittsburgh. Chosen after a nationwide search that began last spring, VanAken will begin work at Elmhurst this summer to succeed interim President Larry Braskamp.

Since 2009, VanAken has served as president of Thiel, a Lutheran liberal arts school of about 1,000 students.

At Thiel, he's a fixture at student games and productions and helped turn around the finances of the school, said Paul Arriola, one of two Elmhurst professors elected by their peers to sit on the search committee for the next president.

Earlier this month, Thiel's fundraising campaign had exceeded its $60 million goal 10 months early, Elmhurst officials said.

"He was able to get the alums and the local business partners to engage with the institution and really help elevate what they could do for their students," Arriola said. "We have all of that position here, and we're very close to Chicago, and we have an alumni base in the thousands all over the country. And we haven't quite yet had a president recently who's been able to capitalize on those two things for us."

The first in his family to graduate college, VanAken noted Elmhurst reaches a "broad array" of students who commute, live on campus and enroll in adult programs. Elmhurst has more than 2,800 undergrads.

"Much work awaits us, but today is about saying hello to new friends, to meeting some students that I didn't get the chance to meet when I was here before to really celebrate the next chapter in Elmhurst's history," he said.

Indeed, VanAken greeted a long line of students and athletes who waited to shake his hand and pose for pictures.

"We're going to use co-curricular activities to further advance the student experience and develop our sense of community," VanAken said.

"And I'm a big believer in a philosophy of work hard, play hard."

He also gave some other "predictions" about his tenure, including establishing a "collaborative," long-term blueprint for the school. And he predicts his dad, Royal, and stepmom, Lucille, will become "big Bluejay fans."

VanAken's dad arrived to the campus Wednesday before his son, "gloating" about how he had already seen the president's office and gotten a tour of the campus.

"That's all right. I got even. I'm turning over his contact information to the athletic department and the advancement department," VanAken said with a smile. "That gloating will cost you a couple of thousands dollars at least over the next few years, Dad. You'll be part of the Bluejay boosters."

VanAken previously served in numerous roles at Albion College in Albion, Michigan, including stints as executive vice president, vice president for finance and management and athletic director.

He and his wife, Annette, an adjunct education professor at Thiel, will live a couple blocks from Elmhurst's campus. They have two children, Trey and Gabriella.