Mark Putnam, the 21^st president of Central College in Pella, Iowa, has more than 35 years of experience from various vantage points in higher education. He can be reached directly at president@central.edu or 641-628-5269.

Professional Experience

Mark Putnam is serving in his 15th year as president of Central College, his 42nd year in higher education. During his presidency Central has pursued a series of strategic initiatives designed to build on the impressive traditions of the college, while embracing a future marked by innovation. Since his arrival in 2010, Central has raised more than $85 million in donations to animate these initiatives and completed major expansions and renovations of the college’s arts, athletics, student center facilities and Peace Mall in the heart of campus. In 2019, President Putnam guided the college through a highly successful, nationally-recognized rebranding initiative that combined a historic adjustment in annual tuition fees with new programming and record-breaking scholarship fundraising.

President Putnam is active in advancing educational opportunity and promoting economic, community and workforce development. Today his energies are focused on a strategy known as Imagine More: It’s Central to Pella. This new initiative is deepening the already close relationship between the college and the city of Pella through housing and real estate development projects achieved through public/private partnerships; development of fresh economic and business development opportunities for the college and local community to expand amenities and increase the quality of life for local citizens; and expanding partnerships with the local not-for-profit community to extend the reach of the college’s curricular model for engaged citizenship. As one of the founders of the Pella Area Community and Economic Alliance (PACE), his emphasis has been on the symbiotic relationship the college has enjoyed with Pella since the college’s founding in 1853, serving as one of Pella’s longstanding anchor institutions.

President Putnam’s service to higher education through the years has included leadership on many boards and commissions. Currently, he chairs the board of directors of the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and represents the state’s independent colleges on the Iowa College Student Aid Commission, among others. His earlier professional appointments included service as senior vice president for executive affairs, chief of staff and chief planning officer at Northeastern University where he filled a succession of leadership roles. He also held key administrative positions at Connecticut College, Alliance Theological Seminary, Pace University and Alliance University (formerly Nyack College) where he began his career as an admission counselor. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Alliance University and Master of Arts, Master of Education and Doctor of Education degrees at Teachers College, Columbia University, focusing on organizational theory in higher education.

A talented writer, President Putnam has published articles in various journals including the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Education, and Trusteeship magazine among others. His forthcoming book, Leading Across the Arc of Time: Commitment and Change in Higher Education (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2025) is scheduled for release on April 8, 2025, and is available here for preorder through Johns Hopkins University Press or here through Amazon.