Topeka, KS – Washburn University’s Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. JuliAnn Mazachek has been named as the sole finalist for president of Midwestern State University (MSU Texas) in Wichita Falls, Texas. MSU Texas is a member institution of the Texas Tech University System (TTU System) – a system of five universities formed in 1996.
Texas state law requires that once a sole finalist has been named, 21 days must pass before final action can be taken on employment. Mazachek will continue in her role at Washburn through the spring semester and expects to relocate to Wichita Falls in late May.
The TTU System’s member institutions include three general academic universities and two health-related institutions. MSU Texas, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, became the fifth member of the TTU System last year.
As the new president of MSU Texas, a nationally recognized liberal arts university, Mazachek will provide overall leadership for the campus in all matters including the planning and management of the academic, research, service, fiscal, development, administrative and operational missions of the university.
“On behalf of the entire Washburn community, I want to wish Dr. Mazachek the very best as she takes on this new challenge,” said Dr. Jerry Farley, president of Washburn University. “In more than 20 years and through a variety of leadership roles, Dr. Mazachek has proven herself a skilled leader and an outstanding educator. We will miss her at Washburn but I certainly understand the reason the Texas Tech University System wants her to lead Midwestern State University.”
Farley said that he will appoint an interim vice president for academic affairs later this semester and will plan for a national search for a permanent replacement this summer.
Mazachek joined Washburn University in 1992 as an assistant professor of accounting after earning her doctorate from the University of Kansas. She rose through the Washburn School of Business and became the dean of the school of business in 1998.
In 2002, Mazachek was named president and CEO of the Washburn University Foundation and Alumni Association where she was responsible for leading the non-profit foundation charged with fundraising and alumni relations on behalf of the university. Under her leadership the foundation won several national fundraising awards grew in size to more than $185 million in assets. Throughout all that time, she remained active in teaching as an adjunct instructor in accounting in the school of business.
In 2016, she was named as interim vice president of academic affairs, a position which she took on permanently a year later after the university conducted a national search.
During her tenure at Washburn, Mazachek has won numerous awards and has become a fixture in community affairs. She currently serves on the boards of Heritage National Bank, the St. Francis Health Center, the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce and the Boy Scouts of America Jayhawk Area Council.
-30-
