Anderson University president announces 2025 retirement

This school year will be the last for Anderson University President John Pistole, who has announced his retirement.  IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports.

Pistole grew up in Anderson and graduated from AU.  He became the school’s leader in 2015 after a long career in the FBI and heading the Transportation Safety Administration.

When he began the job, Pistole said he was guided by the individual student experience.

“[We] want to make sure we’re providing outstanding academics, an area for spiritual growth, and then just a real sense of confidence in who they are and who’s they are as they go out into the world,” Pistole said.

Read More from 2015: Anderson University inaugurates President John Pistole

In a statement, Pistole called his time at AU the “honor of a lifetime.”  The Church of God-affiliated liberal arts school says during Pistole’s time as president, it added 17 new undergraduate majors, including cybersecurity and engineering.  It also says this incoming freshman class is 15 percent larger than the previous year.

Pistole could have ended his presidency in 2017, when he was interviewed by then-President Donald Trump to be the director of the FBI.  He served in the FBI from 1983-2010, with the last six years as deputy director.  Trump chose the other person on a two-person shortlist – Christopher Wray, who continues to head the agency today.

Pistole and his family have a long history at AU.  He, his parents, and three siblings are all graduates.  His father and sister taught on the faculty.  And Pistole met his wife, Kathy, in a freshman Old Testament study class.

Pistole says he will retire June 1, 2025.  The school’s Board of Trustees says it has already begun a search process for what will be its sixth president.

Stephanie Wiechmann is our Managing Editor and “All Things Considered” Host.  Contact her at slwiechmann@bsu.edu.