D'Souza resigns, Andy Mills steps in as interim president
Financial District, NEW YORK– The Board of Trustees accepted Dinesh D'Souza's resignation Thursday after deliberating for 11 hours Wednesday. Chairman of the Board Andy Mills will step in as interim president for the third time.
"This has been a very difficult period," Mills said to the student body Thursday afternoon. "Please be in prayer for Dinesh and his family during this very difficult time."
Although Mills did not cite specific factors that led to D'Souza's resignation, timing suggests public allegations that D'Souza faces weighed on the decision. D'Souza has denied WORLD Magazine's claims that he shared a hotel room with his then-fiancée despite his marriage to another woman.
"After careful consultation with the Board and with Dinesh, we have accepted his resignation to allow him to attend to his personal and family needs," Mills said in a press release. "We thank him for his service and significant contribution to the College over the last two years."
Mills previously served as the president and chief executive officer of Thomson Financial and Professional Publishing Group.
The search for a new president will begin immediately, with a search committee of five Board members and a member of each part of the college, most likely a parent, executive committee member, faculty member and student, Mills said.
The Board members on the search committee are John Beckett, Darin Blanton, Lee and Allie Hanley and John Spier.
Mills expects the process to take six to nine months. "I'm not the long term solution," Mills said. "We're looking for the right person to lead the college for a long time."
He senses the change is "all in God's time" and said the Board feels the same.
"When something just comes and hits you ... it's those times that God steps in," Mills said. "The King's College is not going to be successful based on one man or one woman."
Student Javier Salcido expressed concern many students share that TKC's reputation became more conservative than Christian under D'Souza's leadership and asked what the search committee's expectations will be for the next president.
"The King's College is a Christian college. Period," Mills said. "We want to find someone who shares our vision."
He conceded much of what the Bible teaches fits more into conservatism than liberalism but explained interpreting the Bible and wrestling with big ideas are part of the King's education.
He explained the vision of King's as taking the revelation and word of God as truth and using it to transform society in the workplace. "We're not just called to evangelize," Mills said. "We're called to work in God's creation... we're about transformation. You can see that very easily with that balance it can fall into ideology. We need to avoid that."
With D'Souza's departure, members of the King's community have expressed concern that funding will decline. He believes the college may lose its "bright edge" because D'Souza attracted funding Mills may not himself attract, but he assured those gathered the majority of TKC's funding comes from the Board.
Mills called upon the King's community to unite in prayer for the school and for D'Souza and his family.
"It's going to be messy for a while, living the Christian life is messy, but it's going to become clear," Mills said, citing other times King's has faced crises. "We have to come together in a community of prayer to go forward."