“I think that a lot of those problems are being resolved without me. I think come of the problems were miscommunications that were blown out of proportion.”

David Norman has felt a calling toward Erskine College since he was a child, and now he says he’s ready to lead the school through its current turmoil.

Norman, who will take the helm as president of Erskine, said he hopes to continue the school’s liberal arts tradition and Christian focus. He called the tension between the school’s faculty and staff and the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church a misunderstanding.

“I have been interested in Erskine for a long time,” he said. “I came to soccer camp here as a little kid, then as an undergraduate, when I went to Auburn University, I thought a lot about my faith and how that translated into my academic career.

Before I went to Scotland for my Ph. D., a friend of mine told me I needed to return to Erskine and visit it once again. He told me that if I wanted to find a Christian academic community, Erskine was the best place to find it.”

He will replace Dr. Randall T. Ruble, who announced his plans to retire on June 30, 2009. Ruble was president of the school for 10 years.

Norman was selected by the Presidential Search Committee, which was appointed in August after Ruble’s resignation announcement.