The longtime Elon senior leader was selected to lead the historic institution located in Staunton, Virginia.
The board of trustees at Mary Baldwin University has announced the selection of Elon senior leader Jeffrey P. Stein as the university’s tenth president. Stein, who has served at Elon for nearly 21 years, will succeed President Pamela R. Fox who is retiring after 20 years of service. He begins his new position on July 1.
Stein has worked as Elon’s vice president for strategic initiatives and partnerships since 2019, leading two key initiatives: the development of the Boldly Elon strategic plan and the university’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He previously served six years as chief of staff and secretary to the board of trustees for presidents Connie Ledoux Book and Leo M. Lambert. He has also been instrumental in building a vibrant Jewish life program on campus and growing Jewish student enrollment.
“Jeff Stein has provided significant leadership in Elon’s development as a national university over the past two decades, serving in numerous roles and partnering with colleagues across the university,” said President Book. “I am grateful for his deep commitment to student success, his positive and creative spirit and his relentless determination to always make Elon better. I look forward to seeing his impact as a university president and as an advocate for students, alumni and local communities.”
Stein joined Elon in 2002 as assistant dean of students and assistant professor of English. He joined the university’s senior staff in 2010 as special assistant to the president and secretary to the board of trustees. In 2012, he was named chief of staff, overseeing the operations of the Office of the President.
In 2019, President Book named Stein to the new position of vice president for strategic initiatives and partnerships, providing leadership for a wide range of Elon initiatives. He led the Boldly Elon Strategic Planning Committee and has also overseen the university’s Student Professional Development Center, Cultural and Special Programs, the Office of Leadership and Professional Development, and Professional and Continuing Studies, as well as co-chairing the Mentoring Design Team and development of regional learning centers.
Over the first two years of the global pandemic, Stein led teams of faculty and staff in creating and implementing Elon’s extensive COVID-19 response, including testing and vaccination programs and continuation of in-person learning and living on campus.
Locally, Stein serves as chair of the board of United Way of Alamance County and on the Downtown Elon Advisory Board and the Alamance Economic Development Foundation board. His wife, Chrissy Stein, has taught English at Elon since 2018 and was a faculty leader for the Elon Global Start program in Copenhagen in fall 2022.
Mary Baldwin is a small, private university founded in 1842 in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, with about 2,200 undergraduate and graduate students. The university includes undergraduate, graduate programs and online degree programs across the Gold College of Arts and Sciences, Palmer College of Professional Studies, and Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences. Last fall, U.S. News and World Report named Mary Baldwin #33 in the nation for social mobility.