Richard Allen Beyer began his service as the ninth president of wheeling Jesuit University on January 1, 2011.
Since arriving on campus, President Beyer has set the tone for an exciting future. His dedication to collaborating with faculty, staff and the Local Wheeling community, along with setting high expectations for the future, has created the necessary environment for success.
When asked what surprised him most about Wheeling Jesuit University he says, “the dedication of faculty and its academic and research excellence.”
As the first lay president of Wheeling Jesuit University, President Beyer says he understands his deep responsibility to the Jesuit Community, Bishop Michael J. Bransfield and the Diocese of the Wheeling-Charleston. “Not only do I feel responsibility for the future of WJU, but also –and more importantly – to achieving our goals in a manner that will make the Jesuits and Bishop Bransfield proud of our success.”
President Beyer comes to Wheeling Jesuit University from the corporate world where he was a senior executive officer, working in the Global Positioning System (GPS) and telecommunications industry. A seasoned management professional, President Beyer has a combination of 24 years experience as a senior executive officer and a 16-year affiliation with higher education, including exposure to all functional areas of liberal arts education. Those who have known him closely will say President Beyer is known for his ability in organizational transformation, collaborative planning, financial modeling and marketing.
President Beyer joined Wheeling Jesuit University from Trimble Navigation, Ltd, where he spent the past eight years as a corporate vice president and a member of the executive committee. With global revenue of $1.2 billion, Trimble Navigation develops commercial GPS systems.
The President began his technology career in 1987 at Qualcomm, Inc., where he served as a vice president of marketing and sales. Since then, President Beyer has held positions as general manager of on-board computing at Rockwell Collins; president, MicroProcessor Systems; and chief executive officer, TracerNet Corporation.
President Beyer first became affiliated with higher education in 1994 when he began serving his alma mater, Olivet College, on the board of trustees. A 1980 graduate of Olivet, he became board chairman in 2000 and was elected trustee emeritus in 2007. For the past 16 years, President Beyer has worked with higher education institutions on financial modeling, board governance and strategic planning.
President Beyer is a member of the board of directors at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB), a national higher education governance organization. He also has served on the board of trustees at The American University in Washington D.C. Additionally, President Beyer sits on the executive committee of the West Virginia Independent Colleges and Universities Board of Directors and recently has been elected to the Wheeling Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
President Beyer also lent his management skills to civic engagement. For several years, he served on the Reston Association Board of Directors, a 25,000 member community organization. In 2004, he was elected president of that board.
A patron of the arts, President Beyer was the executive producer of a Broadway-style musical and was active in an off-Broadway New York theater production. He also plays piano and percussion and has competed in six marathons.
Until moving to West Virginia in January 2011, President Beyer and his wife of 32 years, Cindy, made their home in Reston, Virginia. The Beyer family includes their son, Christopher, and his wife, Misty.
