President Bonnie H. Cordon introduced as 10th president of Southern Virginia University
A new era is beginning for Southern Virginia University.
SVU announced Friday that Bonnie H. Cordon will begin serving as the school’s 10th president starting immediately, replacing President Reed N. Wilcox.
President Cordon just completed five years of service as the Young Women general president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In that role, she was also a member of the Church Educational System’s board of trustees for BYU, BYU-Idaho, BYU-Hawaii and Ensign College.
“I’m immensely thrilled,” said Cordon, who also is a former software executive.
Related
Based in Buena Vista, Virginia, SVU is a private university aligned with the principles, values and teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, though it is not endorsed or sponsored by the church. SVU has nearly 1,000 students enrolled as of this fall.
“We are at a pivotal moment in the history of Southern Virginia University, and our board is united in its conviction that President Cordon is the right person to lead us now,” SVU chairman L. Hugh Redd said in a news release.
Redd said Cordon’s recent experience provides her with unique insight and understanding of the needs of students.
“We are fortunate to have President Cordon leading us at this time and we are thrilled about this next chapter in our university’s legacy,” he said.
Cordon served for seven years as a general officer of the church, first serving two years as a counselor in the Primary general presidency.
In an interview with the Deseret News, she said a change in the church’s structure gave her greater insight about the Young Men organization, too. The church introduced integrated training, where general officers of both the Young Women and Young Men trained local leaders.
“We were praying as mightily for our young men as the young women,” she said. “It was a new era of youth involvement.”
Her seven years as a church officer were a time of immense adjustments within the church and its youth programs, and straddled the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, some of the young women and young men she was serving during that time will have her as their new university president.
Related
She said some of her focus will be on continued fundraising with an emphasis on providing opportunities for more people to invest in the future of SVU and its students.
SVU launched a presidential search committee in the spring. Cordon said she was contacted first by an email to gauge her interest. She had not been to campus before.
She spoke at an SVU devotional on Sept. 29.
She told the students that as she approached completion of her bachelor’s degree in education at Brigham Young University, she realized it was the wrong career path for her. After prayer, she felt prompted to complete the degree. She later launched a software company.
Now, she will return to education.
“The impression after much prayer was, ‘Your career journey will be joyful, just graduate,’” she told the Deseret News. “I went into management in the software industry and absolutely had a joyful career. I loved what I did, but maybe this actually will be the cherry on top.”
As she has been introduced to SVU, Cordon said she was impressed by the rigor of its programs and small class sizes that create a low ratio of students to professors.
Cordon said she was curious during the search process to see how SVU was helping students move toward a brighter future with faith in Jesus Christ, considering that President Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had told the church’s youth they are among the best the Lord has ever sent to this world, with the capacity to be smarter and wiser and have more impact for good than any previous generation.
“When I came on this campus,” Cordon said, “I thought, these are the young people that he made that promise to, and I would love to see the hand of the Lord as their capacity increases to become that smarter and wiser generation. I mean, who doesn’t want to see the miracles of the impact that they’re going to have throughout the world as they go into different occupations with a Southern Virginia diploma and degree that opens bridges to everywhere?
“It will be remarkable.”
Cordon said her time on the CES board of education provided training for her new role as SVU’s president as she watched the presidents of BYU, BYU-Idaho, BYU-Hawaii, Ensign College and BYU-Pathway Worldwide present to the board.
“The CES institutions all have the same purpose, to help young people come to know Christ as they expand their academic knowledge,” she said. “It was interesting to see how each president had a different style to navigate their school. They all had different strengths.”
She said that taught her that there are a number of ways to approach the university president’s chair.
“It’s not going to just be me,” she said. “I have wonderful people all over the world who will be the best mentors for me and a lot of staff I can draw on. I truly believe revelation is sprinkled among us.”
The SVU board of trustees voted unanimously to appoint Cordon, the news release said.
A presidential inauguration will be planned and announced at a future date, SVU said.
Cordon is a mother of four and grandmother of seven.
Wilcox was granted medical leave in January. Eric Denna has served as acting president.
“We commend and express our absolute gratitude to President Wilcox and acting President Denna for their tireless efforts and service to our university,” Redd said. “Building on the foundation and vision of her predecessors, we look forward to following and supporting President Cordon as she leads us into the future.”
The chair of the search committee was Laura Whiteley, a member of SVU’s board of trustees.
“We appreciate everyone who participated in the search process — faculty, staff, students and friends — for their feedback and perspectives that helped us arrive at such a wonderful outcome.” Whiteley said. “We felt help from heaven and support from campus throughout this process. The Lord truly has a plan for this university, and I am excited for President Cordon to help execute that plan.”
