John C. Volin will be the next president of Gustavus Adolphus College.

Volin begins his tenure as the St. Peter college’s 18th president in August, Gustavus announced last week. Coming from the University of Maine, where he served as executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, the South Dakota native follows Rebecca Bergman, who took the helm at Gustavus a decade ago.

Gustavus’ search committee spent over a year considering more than 60 applicants, and Volin was chosen unanimously by the board of trustees, according to the college.

Volin matched standards for a new leader developed through listening sessions with students, alumni, faculty, and staff, says Suzanne Boda, chair of the search committee and chair-elect of the board of trustees.

“He has a strong network, and he’s got great partnership experience, and he’s very relationship based,” Boda says. “He has worked his whole career to focus on student wellbeing, both in the college setting and also to ensure they are prepared for their future success in life.”

This means Volin gels with one of Gustavus’ more recent priorities. “We are focused on the whole student,” Boda says, “to best prepare them for life on campus and also that post-graduation life.”

In the past year, Gustavus “completely renovated and reimagined its general education curriculum” with this goal in mind, she notes. The revamp advertises flexibility: fewer requirements, more varied courses, a new academic calendar meant to open opportunities for summer internships, and smaller major course loads so students can better explore electives.

Volin is “a national leader in using evidence-based practices to support holistic student wellbeing,” according to the college. He serves on the executive committee of the Coalition for Transformational Education, a nationwide group dedicated to students’ lifelong success.

“I resonate strongly with Gustavus Adolphus College’s commitment to an exceptional liberal arts college experience that focuses on delivering the transformative power of education within a whole student framework,” Volin said in a release last week.

Volin oversaw more than 1,000 faculty and staff at the University of Maine, with a budget of over $250 million, according to the release. At Gustavus, he will oversee 180 faculty and a budget of $95 million. In the past decade, Gustavus has nearly tripled its endowment, according to the college, and added several major building projects.