Culver-Stockton College President Dick Valentine says he will retire, effective June 30, 2014.
He says the timing is right for his decision, given the positive direction of the Canton, Mo.-based college and his nearly four decades in the field of education.
Valentine has a deep history with the college, starting with his graduation from C-SC in 1970.
He also worked in admissions for about a decade and served on the college's Board of Trustees prior to being named president in 2009.
Valentine is the first alumnus to lead C-SC in its 160-year history.
"My true love and everything I have done here is to get to know the students," says Valentine. "I just so much appreciate their talents and their abilities, whether it is in the classroom or on the field or in the theater or in music. That has been the highlight of my career."
C-SC's Board of Trustees plans to start the search for a new president immediately.
Valentine says he will not be part of that process, but he says he will be available to help his successor in any way possible.
