Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus named 10th president of EMU

Eastern Mennonite University announced Monday, June 22, that it has named the Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus as its 10th president.

Dycus, who has led the university as interim president since July 2025, begins her five-year term on July 1, 2026.

“I’m humbled to continue the bold legacy of EMU,” Dycus said. “EMU leaders have been courageous and visionary stewards of this sacred community. Being called to serve among them is a responsibility I’m excited and honored to step into.”   

The EMU Board of Trustees unanimously voted to appoint Dycus as president during its June 12 meeting.

Jane Hoober Peifer ’74, MDiv ’97, chair-elect of the board, said Dycus demonstrated consistent and collaborative leadership over the past year as interim president that “continues to unite the campus.” She also highlighted her ability to listen attentively and build effective teams.

“She cares deeply about students and their success, and she works to create a good working environment for faculty and staff,” Peifer said. “EMU is very fortunate to have the gifts and leadership of Rev. Dr. Shannon Dycus as its 10th president.”

The board’s decision followed several months of feedback gathered by its Presidential Succession Planning Committee from representatives across the EMU community, including faculty, staff, students, senior administrators, alumni, donors, church constituents, and other key stakeholders, regarding her potential appointment. 

A report of the committee’s findings, presented to the board in May, recommended appointing Dycus without launching a costly and time-consuming national search. 

Based on “the institutional knowledge, relationships, and trust that she has already established, the university is not being asked to take a chance on an untested leader. Instead, [EMU] has already completed the most meaningful leadership assessment possible: observing the candidate serve successfully in the role itself.”

It cited her demonstrated leadership, character, vision, and effectiveness as positioning her to lead EMU into its next chapter. It also noted the unusual level of alignment from those consulted throughout the process.

“The committee found broad and consistent support for Dr. Dycus across nearly every constituency engaged during this process,” the report said. “Stakeholders repeatedly described her leadership as authentic, relational, transparent, collaborative, strategic, mission-centered, and deeply aligned with EMU’s values.”

The analysis concluded that Dycus demonstrates the leadership capacity, institutional understanding, and community trust needed to guide EMU during a pivotal period in its history. Together, the board’s unanimous vote and the consistent, enthusiastic affirmation expressed across stakeholder groups reflect a shared confidence in Dr. Dycus’s leadership and in EMU’s future.

Over the past year as interim president, Dycus has fostered renewed optimism, deeper collaboration, greater transparency, and growing confidence in EMU, the report said. She helped create a healthier organizational culture while guiding the university through significant challenges.

During her tenure, Dycus has helped position the university for enrollment growth, financial stability, and sustained donor confidence. Undergraduate applications have doubled during this cycle, and EMU is projecting a larger incoming class than last year, which itself was up 10%.

EMU’s first-ever Forward Together comprehensive campaign has surpassed 80% of its $40 million goal with two years remaining. As student and workforce needs evolve, the university continues to reshape its academic programs to ensure its transformative educational offerings remain relevant in a changing higher education landscape.

A recently finalized strategic partnership with Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community positions the university to invest in programs and people that move it forward. An academic restructuring during the 2025-26 academic year has also expanded opportunities for cross-departmental collaboration.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for who we are as an institution,” Dycus said. “We are growing, we are sustaining, and there’s joy around who we are.”

An educator and ordained minister, Dycus has more than 20 years of experience in learning communities and ministry settings, including the past seven at EMU. Prior to serving as interim president, she was vice president for student affairs, equity, and belonging. She previously served as dean of students from 2019-23 then vice president for student affairs and dean of students from 2023-24 before being promoted to vice president for student affairs, equity, and belonging (2024-2025).

Before coming to EMU, she was an academic adviser and adjunct faculty member at Franklin University of Ohio (Indianapolis campus) and co-pastor at First Mennonite Church in Indianapolis.

She holds a doctor of ministry in public theology from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, a master of divinity from Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, and a bachelor of arts in middle and secondary education from Butler University.

Dycus is the first Black woman to lead EMU as president. She succeeds President Emerita Dr. Susan Schultz Huxman, who served as the university’s ninth president from 2017-25.

She lives in Harrisonburg with her husband, Gregory, and sons Malachi and Semaj.

An inauguration ceremony on Oct. 10 during EMU’s annual Homecoming Weekend will celebrate Dycus as the university’s 10th president during its 110th year. Invitations and additional details will be shared later.

Manuel Nuñez ’94, chair of the board of trustees, reflected on the significance of the appointment. “As EMU steps into its next century, we are grateful to have found in Dr. Shannon Dycus a leader uniquely suited to this moment,” he said. “Dr. Dycus brings academic depth, a gift for listening, and a deep commitment to building community. Her leadership reflects clarity, wisdom, and a fierce commitment to our students and to the distinctive mission and witness of Eastern Mennonite University.” 

Members of the Presidential Succession Planning Committee included Janet Lind (chair), Jake Bell, Ral Obioha, Steve Kriss, and Amy Yoder McGloughlin.