(Posted December 12, 2016)

Juniata College President James A. Troha
Juniata College President James A. Troha

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- The Juniata College board of trustees voted unanimously to renew the contract of President James A. Troha, ensuring his continued leadership of one of the top-rated liberal arts colleges in the nation through 2021.

            Troha’s extension was recently announced at a trustees meeting by Tim Statton, chair of the college’s board of trustees and a 1972 graduate of Juniata. Statton is a retired president of Bechtel Power Corporation and has been a Juniata trustee since 1998. He was named chair of the board in 2016.

            “Jim Troha’s contract renewal is a clear message of how much the board of trustees respect his leadership and vision of Juniata’s future,” says Statton. “We have been impressed at how quickly Jim has become a member of the Huntingdon community and moved forward with an ambitious strategic plan that will ensure the college’s future.”

            Troha’s major achievements since his inauguration as Juniata’s 12th president in 2013 have included the completion and implementation of the strategic plan, “Courage to Act,” which lays out an ambitious strategy to increase enrollments, strengthen the curriculum, heighten community engagement for the college, raise the college’s national reputation, and launch Juniata’s next comprehensive fundraising campaign.

Under his leadership the college has added women’s lacrosse and men’s and women’s golf as NCAA Division III sports, reorganized the dean of students office to focus more on student services and starting an ambitious program of community involvement for the college and its leadership.

"Jim Troha's contract renewal is a clear message of how much the board of trustees respect his leadership and vision of Juniata's future. We have been impressed at how quickly Jim has become a member of the Huntingdon community and moved forward with an ambitious strategic plan that will ensure the college's future."

Tim Statton, chair, Juniata board of trustees

            In addition, Troha has continued to improve the infrastructure of the campus, overseeing the construction of the Winton Hill Athletic Complex, a $3.5 million soccer/lacrosse/tennis facility that is one of the best facilities of its kind in the Landmark Conference. He also played a major role in completing the funding and starting construction on the $4.5 million Tom and Pat Kepple Integrated Media and Studio Arts Building, now currently under construction.

            Troha also authorized a $15 million multiyear improvement project focused on renovating and improving classroom buildings, residence halls and other buildings, while also incorporating accessibility and inclusion more fully into the campus infrastructure. Some of the larger improvement projects include the building of a Global Commons area in the Tussey and Terrace residence halls, the installation of a new roof and entrance to the Kennedy Sports and Recreation Center, installation of a new elevator, lobby and façade for Ellis Hall and many other smaller projects.

            “Jim Troha has shown the board of trustees that his vision for Juniata’s future is not only viable, but inevitable,” says Robert McDowell, a 1967 Juniata graduate and former chair of the board from 2011 to 2015. “We recognized his qualities as a transformative leader and he has embraced that challenge.”

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.