Marian University President Daniel J. Elsener will step down next year after more than 25 years leading the university.
Elsener will leave the presidency on June 30, 2027, following the 2026-27 academic year. He will then become president emeritus.
The Marian University Board of Trustees unanimously selected Kenith C. Britt, the university’s chief operating officer and chancellor of its Indianapolis campus, to become the next president.
Britt joined Marian in 2013 and has served in several leadership positions. He will work with Elsener and other university leaders during the transition before taking over as president.
Elsener became president in 2001, when Marian was still Marian College and had about 1,100 undergraduate students. The university now has about 5,000 students.
During Elsener’s tenure, Marian became a university and expanded its academic programs, including the addition of the Tom and Julie Wood College of Osteopathic Medicine and the E.S. Witchger School of Engineering.
“This is a moment of tremendous gratitude, but it is also a moment of tremendous optimism about where Marian University is headed,” Board Chairman Toby McClamroch said.
Elsener said he plans to take a sabbatical before beginning his next chapter as president emeritus.
“I’m not retiring from Marian’s mission,” Elsener said. “My role is changing.”
Marian is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year.
This article was written by John Herrick for WRTV.
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