President of Lourdes University to leave Sylvania school

Lourdes University President Robert Helmer

Lourdes University president Robert C. Helmer will step down from the position at the end of the school year.

Mr. Helmer, president of the private, Sylvania school since 2003, announced Monday that he has accepted a similar position at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea.

“Dr. Helmer’s dedication to Lourdes and the legacy that he leaves is visible in the incredible campus that he has helped shape,” Joseph Nachtrab, president of Lourdes' Board of Trustees, said in a release. “He will be greatly missed throughout the institution, and we wish him the best success as he begins this new endeavor.”

Lourdes will form a search committee to select its next president. The university expects the search to last about a year, and its next permanent president likely won’t be inaugurated until the 2013-2014 school year. An interim-president will be appointed to lead the university through the 2012-2013 academic year.

Mr. Helmer first came to Lourdes in 1996 as a history professor.