Gannon concludes its president search by naming Keith Taylor's successor

Gannon University President Keith Taylor announced his plans to retire on Aug. 26.

On Wednesday, a little more than two months later, Gannon held a morning news conference to announce his successor.

Walter Iwanenko Jr., the university's provost and vice president of student experience, was announced Wednesday morning as Gannon's eighth president. He steps into the new job on July 1, replacing Taylor who will have served six years as provost and 12 as president when he leaves the job at the end of June.

Extensive vetting process

Iwanenko, 52, is the son of immigrants – his father is from Ukraine and his mother is from Poland – and is a first-generation college graduate.

Prior to coming to Gannon in 2016, he served as dean of adult and graduate studies at Hilbert College in Hamburg, New York.

The announcement, made in Gannon's Waldron Campus Center before a crowd of more than 150 students, staff, faculty and community members, came from Erie Catholic Bishop Lawrence T. Persico, who said the board of trustees voted on Monday to appoint Iwanenko.

The announcement, which follows the development of a presidential profile and interviews with students, faculty and staff, was not a surprise.

Iwanenko had been established in advance as the university's internal candidate who would be vetted for consideration. Had he not been chosen, Gannon would have begun to look at outside candidates for the position.

"As a university community, we are fortunate to have the stability we have here," said Persico, who praised Iwanenko's qualifications.

Persico described the process of vetting Iwananko as an extensive one that included the completion of more than 800 transition surveys and 275 people who interacted with Gannon's next president in public forums.

"Thank you for your input and engagement," Persico said.

Tina Donikowski, an Erie businesswoman who serves as the head of Gannon's leadership search committee, said in a statement that Iwananko distinguished himself throughout the process.

"As a committee and as a board, we were prepared to take the search nationally if that was indicated, but Dr. Iwanenko proved to us he is ready for this role," she said. "He has institutional knowledge, the aptitude, and a commitment to both the university and to its Catholic traditions."

Iwanenko, who grew up in Buffalo, shares a common occupational background with the man whose position he will fill.

Background in occupational therapy

While Taylor was originally a physical therapist, Iwanenko began his career as a staff occupational therapist at Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo. He later launched and sold two businesses in the Buffalo Region, Monarch Little Learners Academy and Childpro.

Iwanenko said that experience in business will help him bring something new to the position.

Iwanenko thanked Taylor for his leadership Wednesday and vowed to continue the tradition of the Catholic university, which was founded in 1925.

"I want to do my part to make sure the window of opportunity is open for others," he said. "Thank you, and go Knights."

For his part, Taylor congratulated Iwanenko and joked that those in the room should continue to respond to his emails in the months ahead.

"I want to say how humbling and rewarding this journey has been," Taylor said.

Jim Martin can be reached at jmartin@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Iwanenko named new president at Gannon; succeeds Keith Taylor