Dr. Harold R. Wilde, President

A.B., Amherst College, 1967; M.A., Ph.D., 1973, Harvard University

Now in his 21st year as president of North Central College, Harold R. (Hal) Wilde describes his position as "the best job in the world ... to be the number one fan of an extraordinary community of students, faculty and staff ... and live on a historic campus in the heart of one of America's finest cities."

Deeply committed to the mission of the College - "a community of learners dedicated to preparing informed, involved, principled and productive citizens and leaders over a lifetime" - Wilde's tenure has been marked by an eightfold increase in North Central's endowment; continuous balanced budgets; the largest individual, corporate and foundation gifts and bequests in the College's 150-year history (making possible 12 endowed faculty chairs and six "Ruge Fellows," a 400 percent rise in scholarship support, major construction projects and significant campus expansion); 94 percent growth in full-time undergraduate enrollments (from 1,290 to 2,500); adoption of the College's first comprehensive new curriculum in 30 years; and a broadened commitment to international programming, service-learning and interdisciplinary studies.

Under Wilde's leadership, significant changes in North Central's physical campus have included total renovation of the College's oldest building, Old Main; three new residence halls, one of them a "green" residence complex that surrounds a new recreation center; two state-of-the-art stadiums, for football, soccer and track, and for baseball; a new "cyber cafe" for students and the community; two completely renovated and expanded buildings housing the College chapel, English and foreign language departments, the art department and a thrust-stage theatre; and the total upgrade of the campus computer system to include wireless connectivity and "smart" classrooms. The College successfully completed a $50 million capital campaign in 2003. Since then, it has raised $30 million to fund construction of the 57,000 square foot Wentz Concert Hall and Fine Arts Center, which opened in fall 2008; and is celebrating its Sesquicentennial this year and is preparing for a major capital campaign to construct new science facilities.

After graduating from Amherst College with high honors in 1967 and earning a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University, Wilde, a native of Wisconsin, served several years in Wisconsin state government, including four as that state's insurance commissioner. In 1979 he became special assistant to the president of the University of Wisconsin System and two years later, vice president for external relations at Beloit College, where he served for ten years before being named ninth president of North Central College in 1991.

Dr. Wilde is married to Benna Brecher Wilde, managing director of Prince Charitable Trusts in Chicago, and they are the parents of three adult children, Anna Wilde Mathews, Henry and Elizabeth Ty.