Academic Search Recruits 12th President for the Hartford International University for Religion and Peace
May 5, 2025 – Education-focused executive recruitment firm Academic Search has assisted in the recruitment of Rev. Dr. Sherry Turner as the 12th president of the Hartford International University for Religion and Peace (HIU). The search was led by Sharon D. Herzberger, senior consultant, and Carly Place, associate consultant. Dr. Turner will succeed president Joel N. Lohr, who has led HIU since 2018. She will be the first African American and the third woman to lead HIU. “For over 190 years, HIU has been led by inspiring leaders who have honored the past while looking to the future,” said Clare Feldman, chair of the HIU board of trustees. “Dr. Turner brings to HIU her extensive academic background, life-changing experience as an HIU alum and commitment to peace through interreligious dialogue. She will build on what president Lohr and other presidents have done while leading us into the future.”
Naseem Shaikh, first vice chair of the board of trustees, led the search committee. “Congratulations to my search committee members who worked long hours for the search for our next president,” he said. “Special thanks to Clare Feldman for her outstanding contribution from start to the end.”
“I commend our visionary board of trustees on their perpetual pursuit of excellence and innovation,” said Mr. Lohr. “Hiring Dr. Sherry Turner, an accomplished scholar and teacher of psychology, a highly successful university administrator, and an incredibly kind human being who holds a master’s degree in theology – and an alum of our own Black Ministries Program, no less – is an accomplishment I could not have imagined possible. I am delighted in this hire, and I congratulate both Dr. Turner on the appointment and HIU on this announcement. I look forward to supporting Dr. Turner and the larger institution in my role as president emeritus, watching and praying for its success as it launches into a promising future.”
Dr. Turner was recently the vice president of strategic initiatives at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. She has led Rhodes’ efforts to achieve strategic goals and foster inclusive excellence. Before that, Dr. Turner served as the director of institutional success and support for UNCF’s Institute for Capacity Building (ICB). She also served as the executive director and CEO of the Atlanta University Center (AUC) Consortium. In the AUC position, Dr. Turner led joint strategic initiatives for Spelman College, Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University, and Morehouse School of Medicine. She was a founder and director of the AUC’s Communiversity, a lifelong learning institute that connects colleges and communities. At Spelman College, Dr. Turner served as vice president for student affairs and as the president’s chief of staff. From 1990 to 2002, she worked at Mount Holyoke College as a faculty member, academic dean, and ombudsperson.
“I am deeply honored to have been selected to lead an institution that I love,” Dr. Turner said. “HIU played an important role in my development as an ordained minister and helped me to balance my identity as a faith leader and as a scholar-researcher in the academy.”
Related: Academic Search Recruits President for Norwich University
The Hartford International University for Religion and Peace was established in 1833 and is a private theological university in Hartford, CT. Hartford International University is centered on two academic units: the Hartford Institute for Religion Research and the Duncan Black Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, the country’s oldest center for such study, having opened in 1973.
Higher Education Specialists
For over three decades, Academic Search has been a leader in designing and implementing search processes for leaders of colleges and universities across the country. The firm has completed hundreds of executive searches for higher education institutions and related organizations, for roles ranging from presidents to provosts to deans. Academic Search has a formal relationship to a premier leadership development program. As the subsidiary of the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI), the firm provides substantial financial support to a number of leadership identification, development, and support programs across all sectors of public and private higher education. The firm is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Herzberger served as president of Whittier College for 13 years, before retiring and being named president emerita. During her prior career, at Northwestern University and Trinity College, she held positions as vice president for planning and administration, vice president for student services, associate vice president for a capital campaign, and special assistant to the president for affirmative action. As a professor of psychology her research focused on the biases in individual and group decision-making.
Ms. Place joined Academic Search in 2024. She has spent most of the past decade working in higher education. Ms. Place dedicated almost eight years to academic advising within Academic Services for Student Athletes at the University of Central Florida. In this role, she fostered strong relationships with student-athletes and guided them to discover their academic passions. Ms. Place also served as the head of the developing athletic advisors program, where she led recruitment, training, and professional development initiatives. In her time at UCF, she also managed award nominations, orientations, and events.
Related: Academic Search Places New Provost for New Mexico State University
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
