Scott Mihalovic, a longtime and highly respected principal with the La Crosse School District before becoming Viterbo’s educational leadership program coordinator in 2014, is the first Medland Chair.

Viterbo University has created its first endowed chair position, thanks to a $1.25 million gift from an anonymous donor. The William Medland Chair of Educational Leadership is named to honor the institution’s longest serving president.

“Endowed chairs are used to honor excellence and perpetuate values and important work,” said Tonya Wagner, Viterbo’s vice president of academic affairs. “Chairships create legacy built on values, and the legacy is really built on the importance of service to community and others. The legacy of the Franciscan Sisters is committed to developing that next generation of educational leaders.

“The most important thing,” Wagner continued, “is it adds prestige and honor and recognizes the excellence in that person, but it also allows them to dedicate more time to scholarship and dissemination of their work to others.”

The honor of being named the first Medland Chair goes to Scott Mihalovic, a longtime and highly respected principal with the La Crosse School District before becoming Viterbo’s educational leadership program coordinator in 2014. Mihalovic oversees programs providing training for educators interested in becoming principals, superintendents, and directors of student services or instruction.

“Bill Medland and I had a great relationship, and that’s what makes this honor special to me,” Mihalovic said. “The beautiful part of this opportunity is the value that’s bestowed on educational leaders and how that’s going to come to fruition to allow more good things to happen.”

In his fifteen years as president, from 1991 to 2006, Medland expanded Viterbo’s impact through new programs, innovations, and developments that transformed Viterbo College into Viterbo University.

Medland oversaw thirteen consecutive years of record enrollment. He initiated Viterbo’s first graduate education programs, including master’s degree programs in education, business and servant leadership, and educational leadership certificate programs.