President’s Biography
Dr. Lillian “Lil” Schumacher took the helm as Tiffin University’s Interim President on January 11, 2016 and was named President just five months later on June 8, 2016. Prior to her presidency, she has been an integral part of the University since 2010, first as Dean of the School of Business and more recently as Vice President for Academic Affairs.
“Tiffin University and the City of Tiffin have been part of my family for over 30 years,” Schumacher said. “TU is a great institution in a fine city and I am thrilled to continue its tradition of success. We have a supportive and engaged Board of Trustees, an exceptional faculty and staff who believe in student success, and an outstanding, diverse student body that expects the best from us. With these strengths, we will achieve great things.”
A natural leader who has experience and academic training in leadership, Dr. Schumacher has more than 30 years of expertise in higher education and corporate environments in areas of program development, assessment, accreditation, teaching, strategic planning, budget preparation and administration, staff selection and evaluation, and fundraising. As a professor of management, she has designed and taught courses and workshops in the areas of organizational behavior and change, strategy, leadership, entrepreneurship, communication, career mapping, human resources, international business and global leadership, and other related disciplines.
With over 20 years of serving as an organizational consultant in areas of leadership development, executive coaching, strategic planning, human resources, career coaching and change management, Dr. Schumacher believes in an organizational culture that embraces mutual respect, accountability, intentional actions, diversity, inclusion and clear decision-making aligned with organizational values.
She has demonstrated her ability to manage and advocate change processes in higher educational and corporate settings, and is a highly motivated, results-oriented professional with an approachable leadership style and a strong work ethic marked by dedication, initiative, integrity and professionalism.
During her time as President, she has established a Celebrating Cultural Uniqueness commitment, which assures students, employers and our community that TU graduates, regardless of their area of specialty, are innovative problem-solvers who can leverage diversity of any type to work effectively with people who are different from them and produce innovative ideas. She has also reinstituted Tiffin University’s 5-year strategic planning process including “Guiding Principles,” which very clearly state TU’s strategic priorities, purpose, mission and vision along with ICARE values. In addition, she led the effort in raising $8 million, after a $4 million donor match, within her first 18 months in the job.
Prior to returning to Tiffin with her family in 2010, President Schumacher was an Associate Professor and founding Director of the Ph.D. in Global Leadership program at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She served as the first Director of Assessment and Institutional Effectiveness at Chancellor University in Cleveland, Ohio and prior to that, she was an Assistant Professor in the Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, where she also served as the Graduate Program Director and Assessment Coordinator for the school.
In the private sector, President Schumacher is a trained facilitator and executive coach specializing in the Emotional and Social Competency Inventory (ESCI), DISC Personal Profile Systems and Franklin Covey’s Four Disciplines of Execution. She has consulted with both national and international companies.
Dr. Schumacher serves as board director for Webster Industries and the Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership. She is past president of the Industrial Management Council and has served in various leadership positions for the Accreditation Council for Business Schools & Programs (ACBSP). She is also on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), the Association for Independent Colleges and Universities in Ohio (AICUO), the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) and the Ohio Campus Compact (OCC).
A true Renaissance woman who knows that technology has placed the world at our fingertips, President Schumacher is actively involved in the global aspect of education, having served as a board member for the European Council for Business Education (ECBE) until December 2016. She is now striving to integrate global diversity into curricular and extra-curricular experiences for all Tiffin University students.
President Schumacher holds a Doctorate in Leadership Studies and Master’s degrees in Organization Development and Higher Education Administration, all from Bowling Green State University. She earned a Bachelor degree in Economics from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania.
Although she has lived and traveled extensively in the Middle East, Europe and Asia, President Schumacher is happy to call Tiffin her home.
President Schumacher brings a high degree of accountability to ensure creative, stimulating and positive environments to her position at Tiffin University.
