Leaders at Steel Dynamics Inc. and Princeton Theological Seminary have joined the Board of Trustees of Manchester University, effective Jan. 1:

John W. Gilmore, class of ’74 and senior vice president and COO for Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey will be joining the board along with Richard P. Teets Jr., co-founder and executive vice president for steelmaking and president and COO of Steel Operations for Steel Dynamics Inc.

“We welcome the extraordinary leadership, knowledge and citizenship these two new members bring,” said new Board chair, D. Randall Brown, class of ’87 and managing partner with Barnes & Thornburg, LLP in Fort Wayne.

“Each is a strategic thinker with a diverse background of expertise that will help Manchester build on its legacy of graduating persons of ability and conviction who will make a difference in the world,” said MU President Jo Young Switzer.

Teets is responsible for six steel plants and six finishing facilities in Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee and Pennsylvania whose 2,650 employees produce 8 million tons of steel products annually.

He previously served on the MU President’s Leadership Council. Teets’ extensive volunteerism includes as vice president of the Whitley County Chamber of Commerce, board member of Anthony Wayne Services and AWS Foundation, and as council financial secretary for St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Butler, Ind. He has served as president of the 9,500-member Association for Iron & Steel Technology and as vice chair of Steel Manufacturers Association.

Teets earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Lafayette College and an MBA at Duquesne University.

Gilmore brings experience in accounting, law, theology and higher education to the MU Board. He assumed the COO post at Princeton Theological Seminar in 1999, after serving in a similar post at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga. He practiced law with Gomel & Davis in Atlanta, and was a CPA with Crowe, Chizek & Co. and Arthur Andersen and Company.

He earned his Manchester bachelor’s degree in accounting and mathematics. He earned a master’s degree in divinity at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and a law degree at University of Illinois. Gilmore serves on the Princeton Community Housing board and is a financial mentor for the nonprofit, In Trust Inc., which supports theological schools. He has served on the board of Habitat for Humanity in Atlanta, Ga.

Joining Randy Brown in leadership of the 31-member Board of Trustees are Steve Hammer, class of ’77 and vice chair, and Larry Rowland, secretary. Hammer is vice president and trust officer for First Financial Bank, North Manchester. Rowland is a partner in NxtStar Ventures LLC in Fort Wayne.

Manchester University, with 1,349 students, offers more than 55 areas of undergraduate study, master’s degrees in athletic training and education, and a professional doctorate in pharmacy. For more about the 125-year-old school that has campuses in North Manchester and Fort Wayne, Ind., visitwww.manchester.edu.