John Roush
Retired 20th President of Centre College
Education
MA and PhD: Miami University
Expertise
Leadership — Civic engagement — College and university administration — Katrina recovery efforts — Collegiate athletics — Civility (public and otherwise) — Higher education finance; President of Centre College since 1998; A veteran of administrative work at Centre, the University of Richmond, and Miami University; Former Academic All-America football player at Ohio University; Interested in themes of student leadership, community service, and the scholar-athlete.
Biography
John Roush became the 20th president of Centre College in 1998, retiring in 2020. During his twenty-two-year tenure, the College added 14 new endowed professorships; instituted a Centre Scholars Program to honor outstanding work at the junior faculty rank; successfully revised its curriculum; finished work on the College Centre, a $24 million addition to and renovation of Crounse Hall, the College’s primary academic space and library, Sutcliffe Hall, the fitness and recreation facility at Centre, welcomed these new buildings to campus: The Campus Center, Pearl Hall, and the A. Eugene Brockman Commons; launched, in January, 2004, the Campaign for A More Perfect Centre, a $120 million capital campaign focused on endowment for student financial aid and scholarships and academic program enhancements; and, most recently, initiated an institutional planning process that holds the promise of setting a new standard for national liberal arts colleges.
Growing up in Ohio, Roush graduated from Kettering Fairmont High School where he was active in athletics, music, and theatre. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Ohio University’s Honors College in 1972, where he graduated summa cum laude. Active in college athletics, Roush was Ohio University’s Scholar Athlete of the Year and was a three-time Academic All-American in football. He completed his formal education at Miami University, earning the Master’s degree in 1973 and the PhD in spring, 1979.
Roush began his career in higher education at Miami University as an assistant football coach in 1972, and then transitioned to administration in 1976, completing his work there in January, 1982 as Executive Assistant to the President.
He joined the University of Richmond in 1982 as Executive Assistant to the President and was made Vice President for Planning, Executive Assistant to the President, and Secretary to the Board of Trustees in 1990. In the late 1980s, he was identified as the intellectual “architect” in the effort to create the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, a multi-disciplinary, undergraduate degree program.
In addition to his work in higher education, Roush was a Captain in the U.S. Army. He is a regular contributor to professional journals in the areas of leadership, governance and finance in higher education, and intercollegiate sport. A member of several professional boards and organizations, Roush has been active in the Association of Governing Boards, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the Association of Presbyterian Colleges, the Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities, and the American Council on Education. He also remains active in civic and community affairs.
He and his wife, Susie Miller Roush, are the parents of two sons. Luke, a 2000 graduate of Duke, and his wife, Brooke Olsen Roush, have three children. Mark, a 2003 graduate of Northwestern, and his wife, Natalie Crable Roush, have three children. Mrs. Roush, a native of Dover, Ohio, has a bachelor’s degree from Ohio University and a master’s degree from Miami University. She is an active civic leader and an accomplished photographer.