Widener President James T. Harris, current vice chair of the Division III Presidents Council, will become chair of that group in January.

Council members also elected Hope President James E. Bultman to succeed Harris as vice chair.

Harris will succeed Christopher Newport President Paul S. Trible as Council chair at the end of the 2010 Convention.

Harris joined the Council in 2007 and chaired the Presidents Council subcommittee that authored a series of “white papers” addressing issues arising from Division III membership growth and diversity. The white papers are the basis for such current Division III priorities as its presidential-leadership and identity initiatives.

He also has chaired the Division III Strategic Planning and Budget Committee and was appointed this week to serve as a member of the NCAA Presidential Search Committee

Harris, who has been president at Widener since 2002, also served for eight years as president at Defiance. He is a member of the faculty of the Management Development Program at Harvard, and has served on the board of directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

He began his career in education as a high school teacher in Ohio, after earning a bachelor’s degree at the University of Toledo. He also holds a master’s degree in educational administration from Edinboro and a doctorate in higher education administration from Penn State.

Bultman became the 11th president of Hope, his alma mater, in 1999, after serving for 14 years as president at Northwestern (Iowa).

During a stint as an education faculty member at Hope beginning in the late 1960s, he coached the school’s baseball team for 14 seasons and also was an assistant football coach.

He also chaired Hope’s education department and was dean of social sciences before his selection for the presidency at Northwestern.

Bultman has served as chair of the board of directors of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, and has previous experience in governance of intercollegiate athletics, having served on the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ Council of Presidents.

He served on the Division III Presidents Advisory Group before joining the Council in 2009.

Bultman holds a master’s degree and doctorate in education from Western Michigan.