Grove City College names its 10th president

Bradley J. Lingo will serve as Grove City College’s next president following a unanimous vote of the Board of Trustees.

In July 2025, Lingo will replace Paul J. McNulty, who served since 2014 as the school’s ninth president, following his retirement at the end of the 2024-25 academic year.

“Brad Lingo is an answer to prayer,” said McNulty, who graduated from Grove City in 1980. “I have full confidence that he is blessed with the faith, character and remarkable ability for leading the college to new heights in advancing our vital mission. This community is in good hands moving forward.”

Grove City is a Christian liberal arts and sciences college established in 1876.

Lingo graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in business-economics from the college in 2000, and has a “distinguished record” in law and academia, the college said in its announcement. His time learning at Grove City transformed his life, Lingo said.

“As a student, I found professors who believed in me and friends who encouraged me in my faith, and I experienced the joy of working hard to pursue excellence in a Christian community,” he said. “I am honored to return to Grove City and ensure that future generations of students will receive the Christian, conservative, academically excellent, affordable education that profoundly shaped me.”

A native of northeast Ohio, he graduated with honors from Harvard Law School, where he served as executive editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.

After law school, Lingo served as a law clerk to Hon. Morris S. Arnold on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, a litigation partner at King & Spalding LLP and practiced law in the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson Dunn.

In 2019, he joined the Regent Law faculty and currently serves as the dean of Regent University School of Law, which is the law school of Regent University, a private Christian university in Virginia Beach. He will complete the academic year at Regent before beginning his tenure at Grove City, the college said.

Under Lingo’s leadership, Regent Law has set records for enrollment, median incoming GPA and LSAT scores, U.S. News rankings and employment outcomes, Grove City said in the announcement.

He and his wife, Yvonne, have three daughters: ages 9, 13 and 14.

Edward D. Breen, chair of the Grove City College Board of Trustees and the Board’s Presidential Search Committee, said Lingo rose to the top of the candidate pool due to his experience and characteristics that make him “the right leader” for Grove City’s next chapter.

“He brings a vibrant commitment to Christian orthodoxy, tight alignment with the college’s conservative vision and character, extraordinary professional experience and sophistication, and a keen understanding of higher education and the challenges and opportunities facing Grove City College,” Breen said in the announcement.

Lingo’s selection concluded a nationwide search, which included representatives from the Grove City College Board, faculty and Alumni Association with support from CarterBaldwin Executive Search, the college said.

“As we prepare to celebrate Grove City College’s 150th anniversary in 2026, there has never been a more important time for a school like ours,” Lingo said. “

A formal inauguration for the new president will occur later in the academic year.

For the fiscal year ending in June 2024, McNulty made $362,590 serving as president of Grove City, according to ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer.

It is unclear what Lingo’s salary will be in the role. Grove City did not return TribLive’s requests on Monday regarding his compensation.