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Mercy Cedar Rapids names Chad towner president and CEO. Chad W. Towner Mercy has named Chad W. Towner its next president and CEO following a national search, the Cedar Rapids healthcare organization announced Oct. 2. Mr. Towner will join Mercy on Oct. 19, succeeding interim president and CEO Greg DeWolf. Mr. Towner has 30 years of healthcare experience, including nearly two decades in senior executive leadership across Catholic nonprofit and community health systems. His background includes hospital operations, quality improvement, physician alignment, strategic growth, organizational development and community engagement. He began his career in 1996 as a physical therapist at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Over the following 20 years, he held several leadership roles in Fort Wayne, including chief operating officer of St. Joseph Hospital and CEO of Dupont Hospital. In 2016, Mr. Towner became president and CEO of Saint Joseph Health System and Indiana market president within Trinity Health, where he led a Catholic nonprofit regional healthcare ministry encompassing two hospitals, a physician network and a broad continuum of healthcare services. Most recently, he served as CEO of Lutheran Kosciusko Hospital in Warsaw, Indiana. "Mercy is an extraordinary organization with a remarkable history, and I am deeply honored by the trust its Board has placed in me," Mr. Towner said in a news release. "What drew me to Mercy was its Catholic mission, its commitment to compassionate, high-quality care and the unmistakable pride of the people I met throughout the interview process. I look forward to listening, building relationships and working alongside Mercy's physicians, employees, volunteers and community partners. My responsibility is to honor the foundation that makes Mercy distinctive while helping the organization grow even stronger clinically, financially, culturally and strategically for the generations that follow." Mercy's board of trustees thanked those who participated in the search process, as well as Mr. DeWolf for his leadership as interim president and CEO. According to the release, Mr. DeWolf will continue to have a role at Mercy. "We're excited to welcome Chad to Mercy," said Nancy Kasparek, president of Mercy's Board of Trustees. "His experience, leadership approach and appreciation for mission-driven healthcare aligns well with Mercy's commitment to our patients, our employees and our communities. We look forward to the next chapter of Mercy's journey together." Mr. Towner and his wife, Tonya, will relocate to Cedar Rapids. They have six adult children and one grandson.

Editorial: Coe is innovating. We have lamented in this space that colleges and universities have been slow to innovate, eroding public trust and prompting an existential debate on whether students should even pursue a college degree. We previously cited a 2023 book by Brian Rosenberg, former president of Macalester College, titled "Whatever It Is, I'm Against It: Resistance to Change in Higher Education." Mr. Rosenberg wrote in a Sept. 19, 2023, Harvard Business Review article that an unsustainable financial model, a shrinking pool of students and an obstinate faculty pose an existential threat to higher education. A few institutions are bucking that trend, and Coe College is one of them. Since David Hayes became president in 2021, Coe has forged partnerships, launched new degrees and embraced cost transparency, with a refreshing emphasis on return on investment. Consider these initiatives. Cutting tuition. As part of its Clearly Coe initiative, the college recently announced a 45% tuition cut for new and returning students for the 2027 to 2028 academic year, meant to give families a clearer cost figure. "College costs can be hard to compare, especially when the final price depends on grants, scholarships and other financial aid. This can leave students and families scrambling to understand what college will really cost. We want you and your family to start with a cost figure that is more accurate so you can focus on why Coe is the right fit," Clearly Coe's website states. "Clearly Coe isn't just about bringing clarity and confidence to the college decision process," Mr. Hayes said. "It's also about ensuring your investment yields the highest potential return." A faster business degree. Coe has received approval from the Higher Learning Commission to launch a three-year bachelor's degree in business administration, concentrating in strategic leadership. The online program requires 24 course credits, equal to 96 semester credit hours, versus the 32 credits a typical Coe degree requires. "This degree offers working adults maximum flexibility and a faster path to degree completion, all while delivering the high standard of academic excellence and prestige Coe College is known for," Coe Provost Angela Ziskowski said. Taking flight. Coe also announced a flight school and aviation management specialization with Midwest operator Revv Aviation. Classes began in 2025, adding an option for business majors amid a pilot shortage that has cut airline service to regional Iowa airports. Coe, Revv Aviation and the Eastern Iowa Airport are now building the infrastructure and pursuing the Higher Learning Commission approvals the program will need. A healthy partnership. Coe is partnering with UnityPoint Health St. Luke's and Mercy Medical Center to offer financial aid and guaranteed jobs to nursing students after graduation as part of the David and Janice McInally Center for Health and Society, building on hospital ties and Coe's Cedar Rapids location in the MedQuarter Regional Medical District. Coe is treating change as a strategy, not a threat. It is also focusing on compelling areas of opportunity for our region. Other colleges and the business community should take note.