Dr. Rosalie Mirenda, Neumann University’s longest-serving president, has announced that she will retire on June 30, 2017.

She became president in 1996 and is in her 21st year at the helm of the university.

“Together with my husband and family, I thought and prayed at length about this decision,” Mirenda wrote in a letter to the school community. “The Good Lord has shown us in many ways that now is the right time for this transition for us and for our beloved Neumann University.”

She further expressed confidence in the school’s future.

“Our leadership team is strong,” Mirenda said. “The Middle States Commission on Higher Education reaffirmed our accreditation and commended our self-study process. Our university trustees are the most wonderful of people; they are courageous leaders with the acumen to continue to guide the institution to new and greater heights.

James Delaney, Chair of the University Board of Trustees, praised Mirenda as “a tireless advocate and savvy visionary for Neumann University while never taking her eye off its Catholic Franciscan identity.”

During Mirenda’s presidency, Neumann has grown from a commuter college of fewer than 900 students to a residential university of almost 3,000.

Annual and capital giving has increased, the campus has expanded from 14 to 68 acres, and new academic programs have been added at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels.

Athletic teams have grown from nine to 24, and state-of-the-art residence halls were built to accommodate 700 students.

Furthermore, Mirenda led the multi-year effort that culminated with Neumann achieving university status in April 2009.