Coastal Carolina University President Ronald R. Ingle will continue to serve as the institution’s president through June 30, 2007, according to an announcement today by Coastal’s Board of Trustees Chairman Fred DuBard. Ingle was originally slated to retire June 30, 2005, but the trustees voted to extend his tenure for two years today at the board’s quarterly meeting.

“President Ingle has been an exemplary and energetic leader of this university since it became independent in 1993. He knows well the possibilities and challenges of higher education and the integral role all education plays in building a stronger South Carolina,” said DuBard. “With the celebration of our 50th anniversary this year and the ongoing 50th Anniversary Initiatives campaign, Coastal Carolina is poised to become a truly premier university. We are fortunate to have Ron Ingle to continue to guide our path into our second 50 years.”

The anniversary has served as the impetus to create a detailed Campus Master Plan, designed to guide the development of the university. According to DuBard, the full board unanimously agreed to ask Ingle to postpone retirement in order to complete several important projects in connection with the Master Plan.

DuBard also said that because appointing a president is one of the most important roles of the board of trustees, extending the president’s contract will assure the smooth transition of leadership through the stages of a national search for his successor.

A national search for a new president will begin in 2006. A new president is expected to take office July 1, 2007.

Ingle became Coastal Carolina University’s first president on July 1, 1993, after the institution gained its status as an independent, public university, ending its 34-year affiliation with the University of South Carolina.

During his 11-year presidency, Ingle has led the institution to unprecedented levels of growth and achievement. The current enrollment of nearly 7,000 students—a 54 percent increase since 1993— is the largest in the university’s history.

The 50th Anniversary Initiatives, an ambitious capital campaign to raise private funds to support Coastal’s academic, physical and athletic needs, was announced earlier this year. The campaign’s $10 million goal was reached before the public phase began in September. Since 1993, the University’s endowment has increased from $3.4 to $12.2 million, and the assets of the Coastal Educational Foundation have increased from $5.9 to $16 million.

Under Ingle’s leadership, Coastal has expanded its academic and service programs to meet the needs of students and the community. Several majors have been created to take advantage of the unique resources of the region: marine science, professional golf management, and professional tourism management have become recognized as some of the finest in the country.

During Ingle’s presidency, campus building space has increased by more than 30 percent. Significant new research opportunities for students and faculty have become available with the gift of Waites Island, a 1,062-acre tract comprising a large portion of the pristine barrier island, marshland and forests near Little River, S.C. Higher Education Centers in Georgetown, Litchfield and Myrtle Beach bring credit and continuing education programs to nearby communities. In a unique private-public partnership, Ingle formed the Coastal Carolina Student Housing Foundation to sell tax-free bonds to build student housing with private dollars. The foundation is responsible for the development of University Place, a student residence adjacent to the campus that has added more than 1,000 beds to campus housing in the past two years. Campus residences now accommodate 2,200 students.

Ingle serves on the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), appointed by the Governor as one of five representatives from South Carolina. He has been elected by the national membership to the board of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), and he is a commissioner of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

Born and raised in Moncks Corner, S.C., Ingle earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Wofford College in 1962 and a master’s degree in higher education administration from Florida State University in 1963. After serving on active duty as a U.S. Army officer from 1964 to 1966, he earned a doctorate in psychology from Ohio State University in 1972. Before moving to Coastal Carolina in 1988 as vice chancellor for academic affairs, Ingle held administrative and faculty positions at Kennesaw College, South Georgia College and the Ohio State University. He served as associate dean of the College of Applied and Professional Sciences at the University of South Carolina.

Ingle and his wife, Judy, have two sons, David and Stephen, and two grandchildren. Judy Ingle is curriculum specialist at Carvers Bay High School, in the Georgetown County School District.