Texas Wesleyan
Emily Messer
The Board of Trustees at Texas Wesleyan on Wednesday announced that Emily Messer had been appointed president of the 133-year-old Methodist university in Fort Worth.
In becoming the university’s 21st president, Messer is the first woman in the job. She succeeds Fred Slabach, who left the university after 12 years as president to become dean of the University of Mississippi School of Law, his alma mater.
Messer’s immediate past experience was in the role of vice president for advancement and enrollment management at Jacksonville State University in Alabama.
Messer begins her duties on July 1.
“I am honored to serve as the 21st president of Texas Wesleyan University,” Messer said in a statement. “I would like to thank the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, and students for the opportunity to lead this exceptional university into its next chapter. I look forward to joining the TXWES family and working closely with stakeholders to continue to serve our students and community.”
Messer earned a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Alabama and received a bachelor’s in English and a Master of Public Administration from Jacksonville State.
She joined the staff of Jacksonville State in 2018 as the associate vice president for enrollment management and led the school to record enrollment and a record year in philanthropic support, including fundraising for a major gift initiative for the $25 million Randy Owen Center for the Performing Arts.
Before that Messer was the vice president of enrollment management, assistant dean of students and director of student life at Shorter University in Rome, Georgia. She also has been involved with several professional organizations, including the American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and the Association of Governing Board for Colleges and Universities.
“We were very fortunate to have many qualified applicants who expressed an interest in leading our university,” said Glenn Lewis, chair of the Board of Trustees. “After carefully reviewing all options, we concluded that Dr. Messer stood out as the person we felt was best suited to lead Texas Wesleyan University into the future. We are very pleased with our selection.”
Messer’s appointment was the culmination of a comprehensive search conducted by a 15-member search committee chaired by Vickie Stevens, vice chair of the Board of Trustees. The committee was assisted by Academic Search, an executive search firm. The committee was made up of members of the Board of Trustees, as well as representatives from the administration, faculty, and student body.
Messer has participated in the American Academic Leadership Institute’s Executive Leadership Academy and EAB Future President’s Intensive.
Texas Wesleyan was founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church South in 1890, originally called Polytechnic College, literally translated “many arts and sciences.” The Polytechnic campus was designated the Woman’s College for Southern Methodism, eventually becoming Texas Woman’s College in 1914, when Dallas was selected by church leaders to be home to Southern Methodist University.
A merger between Texas Woman’s College and Texas Wesleyan Academy in Austin resulted in the coed Texas Wesleyan College in 1935. Its home, of course, was Fort Worth.
Messer is the first female president of the former Texas Woman’s College.
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Emily Messer as the next president of the university,” said Stevens. “As the new president, Dr. Messer will bring her knowledge of enrollment and retention management, student success, advancement and development of new undergraduate and graduate programs to meet the needs of the ever-changing economic markets. Dr. Messer has the skills to build upon the success of President Slabach with her talent and vision, and we look forward to the future of Texas Wesleyan University under her leadership.”