Thomas Mitzel, president of Kentucky Wesleyan College, has announced that he will depart on July 1, 2024, to return to South Dakota. He will remain as a consultant through Dec. 31, 2024.
James Cousins, currently provost and vice president of academic affairs, will assume the presidency on July 1. In January, Mitzel announced his plans to retire at the end of December 2024, and in April, the board of trustees appointed Cousins to succeed Mitzel in January 2025. 
Cousins began his career as a history and Latin teacher at Millersburg Military Institute in Millersburg, Ky. He has held teaching appointments at Kentucky State University, Berea College, Eastern Kentucky University and most recently, at Western Michigan University, where he was a history professor and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He holds a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University and both an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky.
