BROWNWOOD, Texas (BP)–Lanny Hall, chancellor of Hardin-Simmons University, was named president of Howard Payne University during a Feb. 3 trustee meeting on the Brownwood, Texas, campus.
Hall, who will be the 18th president in HPU’s 112-year history, returns to the 1,400-student university where he began his administrative career in higher education. He served as executive vice president and chief academic officer at HPU from 1986-89.
“I am deeply honored and feel very fortunate to be asked to return to Howard Payne University,” said Hall, who will begin his HPU service March 1. “Howard Payne has a rich heritage and a very bright future. I look forward to great experiences as we seek to help students realize their dreams and continue to provide quality higher education in a nurturing, unapologetically Christian environment.”
Hall’s 32-year career in education and government includes service as a public school teacher, congressional aide, businessman, state representative, state agency executive, and university professor, vice president, president and chancellor.
“While I have enjoyed my role in teaching political science and leadership over the last two years, I have missed the challenges that come with being a university president,” Hall said of his chancellor’s post at Hardin-Simmons in Abilene. “Carol and I feel strongly that God has opened this unexpected door of opportunity and we look forward to returning to HPU again next month.”
Hall was named chancellor of Hardin-Simmons in 2001 following a 10-year tenure as president. During his administration, HSU experienced growth in many areas, including endowment, enrollment, academic programs and campus facilities.
The university’s endowment grew from $31 million to $75 million in large part from two successful fundraising efforts.
HSU achieved significant increases in undergraduate and graduate enrollment and strengthened its faculty and academic programs, including the addition of six new graduate degree programs.
Under Hall’s leadership, HSU also improved its physical plant with the addition of five new campus buildings and renovation of five other facilities.
Prior to moving to HSU in 1991, Hall served as president of Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas, from 1989-91.
Hall has a distinguished career in education and government. Prior to joining HPU’s administrative team in 1986, he served as deputy executive secretary for special programs with the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. He was a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1979-84 and served in key leadership positions at the state and national levels.
Hall earned the Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin in 1985 and the M.Ed. and B.S. degrees from North Texas State University in 1973 and 1971, respectively.
Hall and his wife, Carol, have two children — Lana McCutchen of Abilene and Chad of Fort Worth.
Affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, HPU was founded in 1889.
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(BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at https://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: LANNY HALL.
