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GREENSBORO — More than a week before he would be named Greensboro College’s new president, Lawrence Czarda outlined his vision for the institution during a forum in Finch Chapel that included students, faculty, staff and alumni.

First on the agenda is to grow the college’s enrollment from approximately 1,200 to 1,500 students within the next few years.

“Indeed growth is an important part of what will happen next,” said Czarda, who was selected by the board of trustees on Tuesday as the college’s new president. “The numbers I used (at the forum) were estimates, but I still think are within the range of what makes sense for the college.

“I would say that certainly the enrollment and retention are critical matters as we move forward over the next couple of years.”

Greensboro College has in its new president a leader with a strong administrative and financial background. Czarda has worked for more than 26 years at George Mason University, a multi-campus research university in northern Virginia with approximately 20,000 undergraduates. He beat out two other finalists to succeed Craven Williams, who retired as Greensboro College’s president in July.

Czarda will start work April 26. His annual base salary will be $198,000.

The college began its search for a new president eight months ago, as it rode out a financial storm from last year’s massive cutbacks and layoffs. More than 100 applicants sought the job, and two weeks ago, the search committee brought three finalists to campus.

Czarda has held positions that include vice president for regional campuses and chief of staff. He is currently vice president for administration at George Mason, where he also teaches a graduate level course in higher education finance. Before coming to the university, he worked in budget and finance in Prince William and Fauquier counties.

Robert “B.C.” Charles-Liscombe, an associate professor and assistant faculty dean, met Czarda during forums held with finalists last month.

He said Czarda’s blend of experiences, his talk of making data-driven decisions at the college and his passion for the liberal arts made Czarda stand out.

“The opportunity that a fresh set of eyes and leadership can provide the institution and its faculty and staff is obviously a positive and brings opportunities for us to engage in some strategic planning that’s been lacking over the last several years,” Charles-Liscombe said, “and to really evaluate our strengths and areas where we should strive for improvement.”

Czarda was just as impressed with Greensboro College faculty members and their commitment in the face of substantial sacrifices made during the past year.

“The morale of the faculty, the morale of the staff and the students and the trustees for that matter was the most impressive,” he said. “There’s a strong belief in the college.”

Czarda said he knows what makes small, private liberal arts colleges tick because he was shaped at one.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from Bridgewater College, a 1,500-student institution in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.

“You can’t get lost, for one thing,” he said. “Secondly ... where you are and when you need help and what you might be struggling with or where you excel can be identified in a very different manner at a small institution.”

Trustees Chairman R. Carter Pate said Czarda understands how schools like Greensboro College fill a niche for students who need that personal attention in cultivating their dreams. He also has a “deep, deep knowledge” of issues in higher education.

“Larry was the head-and-shoulders finalist,” Pate said. “I could see very quickly that his tenure had really prepared him for this day, that he would have all the answers based on his experience.”

The college actively involved students, staff, faculty and alumni in choosing a leader. Forums were held so they could question each candidate, and the search committee also solicited feedback through questionnaires handed out after each forum.

“This won’t be (the board of trustees’) president. This will be the Greensboro College community’s president,” Pate said.

In many ways, Czarda already has tested his ability to lead a college. One of the jobs he held at George Mason was as vice president of the Prince Williams campus, a job he likened to being president of a small college.

That campus, which Czarda continues to oversee as part of his current duties, has grown tremendously in recent years due to his leadership, his George Mason colleagues said.

Edward Newberry, a member of George Mason’s board of visitors, worked with Czarda on a collaborative effort to secure a bio-containment lab and research facility at the Prince William campus. Czarda developed a very clear and strategic plan for how the university should proceed to obtain the lab and united a large group of stakeholders who held various viewpoints on the matter.

“Larry has the ability to be a consensus builder and a leader at the same time, which is what makes him particularly effective,” Newberry said.

Czarda led the development of the Prince William campus, Newberry said, from the creation of its teaching program to the recruitment of key staff to run it.

Bill Reeder, dean of George Mason’s college of visual and performing arts, said Czarda was the team leader to bring a new performing arts center to the Prince William campus. The center is scheduled to open in the spring.

Reeder called it a dynamic project that replicated the responsibilities of a president in many ways. The project involved not only the university, but city, county and state government, as well as private citizens.

Czarda not only knew how to build community rapport, Reeder said, but he also knew, in great detail, the academic and budgetary ramifications of a project of that scale.

Maurice Scherrens, George Mason’s senior vice president and Czarda’s boss, said Czarda is loyal, dependable, focused and committed.

He’s often the face of the university in its partnerships with surrounding jurisdictions, the go-to guy who’s known to “close the deal,” Scherrens said.

“I think what you’ve got is somebody who brings in a breadth of experience in higher education.”

Contact Jonnelle Davis at 373-7080 or jonnelle.davis @news-record.com