The Institutional Opportunity

Established jointly by local Fayetteville/Cumberland County, North Carolina citizens and the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, Methodist College was chartered in 1956, renamed Methodist University in 2006, and has grown into an institution welcoming all faiths and valuing diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Methodist University has thrived through its missional conviction that a liberally educated person is sensitive to the needs and rights of others. Methodist University affirms the importance of intellectual values and ethical principles, such as truth, virtue, justice, and love, and seeks to develop graduates who will contribute substantially and creatively to the professions and to civic life.

Stemming from its mission, Methodist University promises students that by the time they complete their chosen degrees, they will be:

• Ready for a career. MU’s portfolio of undergraduate and graduate professions-focused degree programs prepares students for a clear roadmap to career or graduate study.
• Prepared for a lifetime of reflection on meaning and purpose. In addition to being career ready, MU’s curriculum and campus programming ask students to explore their evolving sense of purpose, their “why” not just their “what,” as they reflect on how they are called to make a difference in the world around them. 
• Moral and ethical agents in the world. MU graduates leave with a well-developed sense of personal and professional ethics. This is engrained in MU’s curriculum and intentionally reinforced in all campus activities, with a focus on shared responsibility and respect for the diverse backgrounds, identities, and cultures of all people. 
• Engaged citizens. MU students learn both in the classroom and out to listen to others, especially those who are different from them; to be open to other perspectives and cultures; to find common ground for working together on solving problems; to build bridges; and to recognize our shared humanity and challenges.

Today, the University serves roughly 1,700 undergraduate and graduate students from across the United States and nearly 80 countries. Methodist University is classified by Carnegie as professions-focused and is accredited by SACSCOC as a level VI institution, offering bachelor’s degrees in over 60 fields of study organized in four colleges, with robust undergraduate programs in business, professional golf management, professional tennis management, health sciences, advanced paramedicine, nursing, pre-health professions, engineering, computer science, cybersecurity, criminal justice, forensic science, social work, teacher education, and psychology. Graduate programs include Doctor of Nursing Practice, Doctor of Occupational Therapy, Doctor of Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant (MS), Clinical Mental Health Counseling (MS), MBA, and the newly established Methodist University Cape Fear Valley Health School of Medicine.

Methodist University is proud of its ability to provide a high-quality education committed to being an institution of opportunity and social mobility by remaining affordable. Almost half of MU undergraduate students are Pell eligible, more than half are first-generation college students, and 100% of MU undergraduate students receive institutional financial support. More than 50% of MU’s undergraduate students also compete as NCAA Division III student athletes.

The Institutional Opportunity

The higher education landscape demands unprecedented strategic clarity and operational agility, in particular for small, regional, tuition-dependent private institutions. Methodist University is prepared to meet these current challenges with our entrepreneurial spirit through the strength of its professions-focused undergraduate and graduate programs and strong, undergraduate general education core that fosters the “power skills” necessary for success.

MU has and will continue to be an institution invested in improving and strengthening individual and community outcomes in Fayetteville, North Carolina. By forging a partnership with the regional health system to start a medical school (MD), something that neither organization could have done on its own, Methodist University has taken bold steps toward positioning itself as a vital regional partner and creating key pathways and opportunities for students and graduates in service to surrounding communities.

To move the University forward and to take advantage of this unique moment in its history, the work of the next executive vice president & provost will be guided by partnership with the president to develop the current University strategic initiatives into a next set of focused strategic priorities for institutional implementation:

Current MU Strategic Initiatives

• Build a Comprehensive Framework to Advance Student Success with a focus on continuous improvement in student retention, persistence, graduation rates, and the overall student experience.
• Extend the MU Reach by expanding online programs, community college articulations, and military and community partnerships.
• Embed Career Readiness and Civic Engagement in Curriculum and Campus Life by providing intentional connections between academic and career advising, expanding on-campus and off-campus internships and professional experiences, creating coursework and research opportunities connected to the wider community, and mentoring to guide students in exploration of personal and professional vocation.
• Commit to Belonging and Engagement by building a campus culture that embraces, celebrates, and creates policies and practices to uphold these values.
• Increase Endowment in Support of Student Scholarships to create self-perpetuating funding to support students seeking a Methodist University education.
• Partner with Cape Fear Valley Health to Advance a School of Medicine focused on educating a diverse population of expertly trained medical doctors attentive to the needs of rural and underserved populations, and becoming a national leader in interprofessional, team-based medical education.

Long-term financial sustainability and wise fiscal stewardship necessary to support Methodist University’s mission and current/next strategic priorities will be a key focus for the executive leadership team, including the next executive vice president & provost.

The President-Elect

Suzanne Blum Malley, PhD

The Board has named Suzanne Blum Malley, PhD, the University’s sixth president effective July 1, 2027.

Blum Malley brings more than 35 years of experience in higher education and a distinguished record of executive leadership at private, mission-driven institutions. After joining Methodist University in January 2020 from Columbia College Chicago, Blum Malley led MU’s academic enterprise into strategic advancements such as the University’s first fully online programs, better opportunities for transfer students, a revised general education curriculum with an innovative vocational discernment core, new degree program development, and the new medical school. Improvements in student opportunity and success have been transformative: Undergraduate retention, graduation rates, and non-traditional enrollment are climbing, and graduate professional programs are thriving.

Blum Malley has delivered an ambitious call for sustained growth and innovation that anchors Methodist University’s core mission while bolstering reach and relevance, and as a leader she is dedicated to educating students with a sense of purpose and ethical service to the world around them and the flexibility and creative problem-solving skills fostered by the humanities and sciences that empower leaders as we adapt traditions for a changed world.

A first-generation college graduate herself, Blum Malley is a lifelong champion of accessible, values-centered education. Her academic career reflects an unwavering commitment and demonstrated execution of teaching-focused, student-centered institutions. Her scholarship also centers on student access and opportunity, with a focus on multilingual literacies and engaging learning environments.