President Gregory E. Christy

Greg Christy is Northwestern’s ninth president, assuming that role in January of 2008 after 12 years as a senior executive at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D. While DWU’s vice president for institutional advancement, he led a nine-member staff in the successful completion of a $40 million capital campaign, which included building the George and Eleanor McGovern Library and Center for Leadership and Public Service.

In addition to a strong Christian faith, Christy has brought to Northwestern a collaborative, team-oriented leadership style, warm relational skills, and the ability to work with others to form vision, execute strategic plans, and build support for the mission of NWC. Under his leadership, Northwestern adopted new mission and identity statements in 2009.

Christy previously worked on the staffs of South Dakota State University and Iowa State University. A native of Ottumwa, Iowa, he earned a bachelor’s degree in management from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. He received a master’s degree in physical education and sports management from Western Illinois University.

A lifelong fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, Christy is a 7-handicap golfer, an avid runner, a tenor who enjoys singing on church worship teams, and a self-described newspaper junkie who loves reading the Des Moines Register. He and his wife, Michelle, to whom he has been married for 20 years, are members of Trinity Reformed Church in Orange City. They have three children: Ryan, 17; Madalyn, 14; and Kyle, 10.