Retired Troy University administrator Dr. John Schmidt will return to lead the University’s Advancement and Economic Development Division as Interim Senior Vice Chancellor, taking the reins from Walter D. Givhan, who has held the position since 2014. 

Dr. Schmidt most recently served as Senior Vice Chancellor for the University’s Student Services and Administration Division. He  will begin his interim service on July 26. 

Givhan joined the TROY administrative team following a 33-year career in the United States Air Force where he rose to the rank of major general. He is stepping down from his work at TROY in order to assume a greater role in his family’s farming business.

“I appreciate greatly the leadership that Gen. Givhan has provided as an outstanding representative of Troy University,” said Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr., Chancellor. “I am extremely grateful to Dr. Schmidt for his willingness to serve in this period of transition as we seek to continue the successful journey of the Advancement and Economic Development Division.”

Schmidt, a retired U.S. Marine Corps Colonel and a combat veteran of the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm, originally retired in 2014 following 20 years of service to TROY before returning in 2019 to lead the Student Services and Administration Division, a role he had served previously. During his tenure with the University, Schmidt also served as Senior Vice Chancellor for the Division of Advancement and External Relations, providing leadership for the University’s first two capital campaigns.

Having always placed a priority on student success, Schmidt’s doctoral dissertation led to the creation of a Dean of First Year Studies, a campus reading program and a student success center, which was named in his honor in 2014.