GARY RANSDELL

The Institute for Shipboard Education, parent organization of the Semester at Sea program, has hired Western Kentucky University President Gary Ransdell as its president and CEO, succeeding retiring President and CEO Loren W. Crabtree effective Jan. 1.

Ransdell, who will head to Colorado next week for a meeting with his soon-to-be staff, will step down as WKU’s president at the end of June but will remain a university employee through the end of the year.

Ransdell said he’s excited about his next step.

“You have different things to worry about when your campus is a ship on the sea than if it’s on land,” Ransdell said in an interview with the Daily News. “But I’ve been on (ISE’s) board for the past four years, so I’m very familiar with the program and they are familiar with me.”

Ransdell said the new job will allow him to continue his passion of global learning and internationalization. “I will be working with students and faculty from all across the country and world,” he said.

Ransdell was hired after an extensive search, according to Kenn Gaither, an associate dean and professor at Elon University School of Communications and an ISE board member.

“With today’s announcement, we enable a smooth transition to a proven executive in Gary Ransdell. Gary brings a history with Semester at Sea as a board member, an innovator and versatile leader,” Gaither said in a news release.

Since 1963, more than 60,000 students from 1,700 colleges and universities around the world have studied with the program, according to the release.

Curriculum for each semester shifts a little bit depending on ports of call but typically is comprised of subjects that lend themselves to a global context, according to Ransdell.

While Ransdell and his wife, Julie, will maintain a home in Bowling Green, Ransdell will work from the organization’s home in Fort Collins, Colo.

“But we are already making arrangements for football and basketball tickets, so we will be coming home,” he said.

Just how the living arrangements will work out is not yet clear. The Ransdells have three dogs and grandchildren living in Florida to consider in the mix.

“Julie and I consider Bowling Green our home, so we will be returning here,” he said.

Ransdell said taking the job wasn’t something he thought about until two months ago.

“But I made it clear over the last year that Julie and I weren’t ready to fully retire. … I think most people knew we would look for something to do for a while,” he said.

That something else, however, could never have been leading another traditional university because his passion is for WKU, Ransdell said.

And while the Ransdells have been avid skiers over the years, that probably won’t be part of their future even though it will be more available to them. “I’m 65 and Julie just got some new hips, so I’m guessing our skiing days are behind us,” he said.

Ransdell has been on board a Semester at Sea vessel twice – once with a group, including WKU students, as the boat went through the Panama Canal, and another time with 42 WKU students for a voyage through the North Sea to study climate change.

“They spent a lot of time in Iceland and that really kicked off our numerous partnerships in Iceland,” he said.

Each semester, about 600 students are on board with 30 or so faculty and a crew of about 125.

The $30,000 tuition a semester pays for operational expenses of the program, but fundraising is needed to build an endowment to fund scholarships.

“I will be recruiting students, engaging faculty and raising money – sound familiar?” Ransdell asked. “The fun part is recruiting a new student body and faculty for every voyage.”

Ransdell hopes that both faculty and students will include more representation from WKU.

Crabtree will remain active in his post until the end of the year.

“You can only have one president at a time,” Ransdell said. “I’m all in for WKU through June and then we are going to rest and travel some and get prepared to take on this job on Jan. 1.”