Drury President Timothy Cloyd resigns, interim replacement announced
Following the abrupt resignation of President Timothy Cloyd, Drury University announced Thursday the appointment of philanthropist John Beuerlein as interim president.
Cloyd told the News-Leader he stepped down from his position due to "family health concerns." He has held the top job at the private university since 2016.
He resigned early Thursday and will go on medical leave immediately. He said it was a "very tough" decision.
"The reason why I'm stepping down is because of a family health situation that I have to attend to and it will take an unforeseen amount of time. I'm going to take a year sabbatical and we'll see how things go," he said.
"Making a decision that you need to put your family first is always hard. I love Drury. It's such a wonderful place and the people are so kind. It has been here 150 years and it will be here another 150 years. It is an incredible asset to Springfield and all of Missouri."
Rita Baron, chair of Drury University’s Board of Trustees, said the board is grateful for what Cloyd accomplished in the past six years.
“Some of his successes include the creation of our Campus Master Plan, implementation of the Your Drury Fusion curriculum and most recently the completion of the new O’Reilly Enterprise Center. These achievements have helped to advance Drury and our mission of student success; for that, we thank Dr. Cloyd and wish him and his family all the best.”
In his place, Beuerlein is a "distinguished financial analyst and philanthropist who has made significant contributions to the field of finance and education," according to the university.
“The board and I know that John is the right choice for this role. We are confident that under his leadership Drury will flourish and build momentum. As we head into the 150th anniversary of the institution, Drury remains a strong and stable place,” said Baron.
Cloyd said Thursday that he has not had time to reflect on his time at Drury, which included a new master plan and the opening of the first new academic building in more than two decades. The university has also added majors and extracurricular activities for student amid the pandemic, high inflation and enrollment challenges.
He said the campus has been aware of the "scary" family health issue but did not want to go into detail.
About John Beuerlein, Drury's new interim president
Drury provided the following background information about Beuerlein in its news release:
Born in Rolla, Missouri, in 1953, Beuerlein’s family moved to Springfield a year later. He attended Saint Agnes Catholic grade school before graduating from Subiaco Academy in Subiaco, Arkansas in 1971. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Drury University in 1975 where he met his future wife, Crystal Layne Tinlin, who is also a Drury alum. The couple married the following year. That same year, Beuerlein joined the financial services firm of Edward Jones where he would spend the next 42 years of his career.
In 1977, Beuerlein earned his Master of Business Administration from Washington University in St Louis. In 1980 he was named a General Partner at Edward Jones. He earned his Chartered Financial Analyst designation from the University of Virginia in 1981. He would later serve as a member of the Board of Governors of the St. Louis Society of Financial Analysts.
Beuerlein is a Drury alum and served as a trustee from 1991 to 2011, including four years serving on the investment committee and as Board Chair from 2006-2010. He was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Drury in 2013 and was inducted into Drury’s Breech Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2011, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award and was elected an Emeritus trustee. In 2016 he was elected one of three Life Trustees. Both Crystal and John received the Distinguished Spirit of Drury award in 2021.
He has also served as a member of the Board of Trustees at Washington University in St Louis and as president of their Eliot Society. In 2009 he received a Distinguished Alumni Award from Washington University. He served as the National Chair of the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement from 2016 to 2023.
“Fifty years ago the education we received from Drury set us up for a lifetime of success. To be able to serve the university in this way and to be a daily part of this spirit of community, so passionate about student success, is the honor of a lifetime! It’s a special bonus to be able to spend more time in my hometown closer to many friends and family members — it’s the icing on the cake for me! My job is to prepare our university for its next president,” Beuerlein said in a statement.
The Beuerleins reside in Clayton, Missouri, and continue to be active in numerous local and national non-profit organizations. They have three children and four grandchildren.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Drury President Timothy Cloyd resigns, interim replacement announced
