Graceland University announces Joel Shrock as new president

Joel Shrock (far right) speaks during a press conference where he was announced as Graceland University's 19th president. (Photo by Brooklyn Draisey/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

LAMONI — Graceland University has named Joel Shrock as its 19th president, announcing the news Tuesday to the applause of students, staff, faculty and alumni on campus.

Shrock has served as interim president since this summer, when Patricia Draves left to become president of Monmouth University in Illinois. He came to Graceland in 2022 after almost 20 years teaching at Anderson University in Indiana to work as vice president for academic affairs and faculty dean.

The new president said in his remarks that while, as a Midwesterner, he was slightly embarrassed by receiving so much applause, he is thankful to have been chosen to lead the university that he chose to call his home.

“This place represents and stands for the values that are important to me,” Shrock said. “The mission, the vision, the values of Graceland match my own.”

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Graceland is diverse and values that diversity, Shrock said, from race to sexuality to interests and ideas, reflecting his own family. He holds order, hard work, and results in high esteem, he said, but also the ideas of dissent, dissatisfaction and debate. All of these are necessary to ensure a university thrives in the changing world, and Graceland must change as well, he said.

Everyone, from students to faculty to staff and coaches, must engage together to create the best atmosphere and opportunities for learning and change, he said.

“Universities are not factories. We don’t pour out widgets. We transform people into their better selves,” Shrock said. “Graceland provides students the opportunity, I want to reinforce that, the opportunity to learn, but it only works if we all join together in a mutually supportive community of learners.”

Mike Wiley, chairman of the Graceland board of trustees, called the announcement a “defining moment in Graceland’s history” during his remarks, and said Shrock brings with him a vision for the university, a willingness to dive into the unknown, passion for learning and commitment to inclusion and Graceland’s mission as he steps into the presidency.

A presidential search committee, made up of trustees, administrators, faculty, staff and alumni, selected Shrock as the new president after a national search that involved interviews with different areas of the Graceland community, according to a news release.

“Since joining us in 2022, Joel has shown an extraordinary ability to engage with every segment of the Graceland community — students, faculty, staff and alumni,” Wiley said. “His deep understanding and alignment with our values and his innovative approach to leadership are exactly what we need to both navigate challenges and embrace the opportunities that lie ahead.”

Vice President for Institutional Advancement Kristi Hettrick also announced during the press conference that the university is seeking to raise $1 million in unrestricted funds by Shrock’s official inauguration on Nov. 2. Dollars donated to the Presidential Fund for Excellence will go toward immediate campus needs and other projects deemed necessary, of which Shrock said a few have been discussed but nothing has been decided on yet.

When asked about his greatest concerns for Graceland and higher education coming into this role, Shrock said the university’s work must go toward making itself a strong choice for students, faculty and staff to attend and work at in order to fulfill its mission.

“It’s a challenging time for higher education, so the goal really is just to continue to make us a compelling option for students,” Shrock said. “And to do that, we really want to focus on the student experience, on making the university a strong, economically viable institution, and making it a place where people want to work, people want to come to.”

Shrock said in a previous interview that universities need to be “bold and innovative” in order to thrive in today’s higher education field. Graceland has made moves to transform its tuition, invest in new traditional and hybrid programs and explore more international partnerships, which he said will pay dividends in the future and help make it through hard times.

In its creation of a hybrid doctorate of physical therapy program and other degrees, Shrock said in the previous interview Graceland has put money into growth areas that leaders knew would stretch finances, but also with the knowledge that they would see a return on investment and make the institution better off. He acknowledged the risk but also expressed his confidence in these efforts.

“What we try to do is create the best possible student experience to fulfill our mission, and when you do those things, and when you broaden your concept of what that is, I think good things happen,” Shrock said.

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