MidAmerica Nazarene University to Inaugurate Dr. Jon D. North as Sixth President Nov. 18 in Olathe, Kansas

MidAmerica Nazarene University announced on July 1, 2025, that Dr. Jon D. North had been selected as its next president, to assume the role that day. The appointment followed a national search conducted in partnership with FaithSearch Partners. Dr. North was described as the university’s sixth president.

At the time of the announcement, Dr. North was serving as senior vice president for University Advancement and executive director of the MNU Foundation. The announcement said that during his 15-year tenure at the university he led the largest fundraising campaign in its history, raising over $90 million. Before joining MNU, he had spent 17 years as chief executive of Heart to Heart International. Dr. Dan Rexroth, chair of the MNU Board of Trustees, expressed confidence in Dr. North’s leadership. The university said a formal inauguration ceremony would be announced in the coming months.

A later university report, dated November 18, 2025, said Dr. North would be inaugurated as the sixth president on that date and that he had assumed the presidency on July 1, 2025. That report described the change as a new chapter in the institution’s 59-year history. It stated that over his 15 years of leadership, Dr. North had helped raise $138 million for scholarships, academic initiatives, capital development and operational needs. The two reports describe his fundraising record differently: the July announcement cited a campaign of over $90 million, while the November report cited a total of $138 million across a broader set of purposes. The sources do not reconcile the two figures.

Dr. Rexroth said in the November report that the university had sought a president with the right skills, competencies and spirit. The report also noted that Dr. North is the first MNU alumnus to become president, a fact that places his leadership within the institution’s own graduates, who carry forward the work of those who came before them (Hebrews 13:7).

The inauguration will take place at 10 a.m. on November 18, 2025, at College Church of the Nazarene in Olathe, Kansas, which is adjacent to the university’s campus. The ceremony is open to the public and will include comments from faculty, staff, students and community leaders.