Noll Sorg will be the first woman to serve as president in the institution's history.
A Baldwin Wallace University graduate, who launched her higher education career here at her alma mater, will make history as John Carroll University's first woman president.
Carolyn Noll Sorg '06, who currently serves as JCU's vice president for enrollment and marketing, will step into the top leadership role on June 1, 2026, following the retirement of President Alan R. Miciak.
Noll Sorg's appointment follows an eight-month national search. Bill Donnelly, who chaired the Presidential Search Committee, noted, "Noll Sorg stood out for her strategic thinking, her understanding of our community and her commitment to our Jesuit Catholic mission."
According to a news release, the Northeast Ohio native will be the third layperson and first woman to serve as president in John Carroll's 139-year history.
En route to graduating summa cum laude with an English degree from BW, Noll Sorg found her future career path working as a tour guide in BW's admission office. In a past Women for BW profile, she said the job was part of an overall BW undergraduate experience that changed her.
"My time at BW was one of constant growth, support, challenge, hard work, reward, learning, and most of all connectivity to friends and mentors," Noll Sorg explained. "I can credit BW with my professional confidence, my network and my leadership skills."
Noll Sorg added two graduate degrees after BW: a Master of Arts in Higher Education from Columbia University and a Master of Fine Arts in Experience Design from Miami University, the terminal degree in the visual arts field.
"After earning a graduate degree in higher education, I came right back to BW for my first professional job as an admission counselor," Noll Sorg recalled.
She went on to hold other higher education posts at Ursuline College, The University of Akron and Barnard College before assuming a role in College Board's BigFuture division, where she consulted with a portfolio of leading national research universities and liberal arts colleges while developing tools to connect students across the country to educational opportunities at more than 1,500 colleges and universities.
She joined John Carroll, located in University Heights, Ohio, in 2023.
"My parents and grandparents — a boiler operator, a registered nurse, an autobody mechanic, and a school bus driver — made extraordinary sacrifices so my brother and I could earn degrees they never had the chance to pursue," Noll Sord said. "Their hope for us was simple: that education would help us secure our futures, find meaning, and contribute to the greater good. Their dream for me is the dream I now hold for every John Carroll student."
A dream first incubated at BW has seen Noll Sord rise and make history at JCU.
