KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Dr. Edward B. Montgomery, dean and professor of economics at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy, will become the ninth president of Western Michigan University Aug. 1.

Montgomery, a nationally known labor economist who played major roles in both the Clinton and Obama administrations, was selected by unanimous vote of the WMU trustees during a special meeting of the WMU board convened April 12. His selection follows a national search to find a successor to Dr. John M. Dunn who had announced a June 30 retirement date, but will now continue through July 31.

"We were fortunate to have a number of gifted candidates emerge through the search process," says WMU Trustee William Johnston, who led the 22-member Presidential Search Advisory Committee that helped identify Montgomery as the successful finalist. "Edward Montgomery's personal demeanor, commitment to transformational change and extensive academic background resonated with all of us involved in the search and spoke directly to the themes that emerged from our numerous listening sessions with university stakeholders."

During a more than 35-year academic career, Montgomery has held faculty positions at Carnegie Mellon and Michigan State universities as well as the University of Maryland, winning teaching awards some five times over the years.  He has been at Georgetown since 2010.

(original source: WMU News, 2017)