Hiram College’s Board of Trustees has voted to name James M. “Jim” Malz, a member of the Class of 1987, as the college’s permanent president, removing the interim title he had held since June 1. The college, located in Hiram in Portage County and founded in 1850, announced the decision through its official release, putting a longtime trustee and alumnus formally in charge of the institution he attended as a student.
The appointment carries a notable place in the college’s history. Malz is the first alumnus to serve as president in nearly a century. The last was Miner Lee Bates, a member of the class of 1895, who led Hiram from 1907 to 1930. Earlier alumni leaders include James A. Garfield, a member of the class of 1852, whose time at Hiram remains one of the best-known chapters in the college’s long history.
Malz is a native of Andover, Ohio, and earned his bachelor’s degree in economics at Hiram in 1987, with concentrations in business management and French. His connection to the college did not end at graduation. He has served as a trustee since 2014 and previously chaired the board’s Finance Committee, giving him a direct role in the college’s governance and financial oversight for more than a decade before he stepped into the presidency on an interim basis.
That governance work followed a long career in banking. Malz retired in 2024 after holding senior roles at Citizens Financial Group, where he served as a managing director, Midwest regional executive, Ohio market president, and in corporate banking. Before that, he spent nearly two decades at JPMorgan Chase, and his career also included time at KeyCorp, building the financial and business background the board cited in making its decision.
Board chair Douglas Gruber said, in the college’s release, that Malz has demonstrated the kind of leadership Hiram needs at this important moment. Gruber pointed to Malz’s financial and business experience, along with what he described as a genuine connection to the college community, as reasons the board moved to make the appointment permanent rather than continue with interim leadership.
For his part, Malz said in the release that he is honored by the Board’s confidence in him. The statement framed his response around gratitude for that trust as he moves from the interim role into the permanent presidency, leading the college where he was once a student and later a trustee.
As permanent president, Malz will work on the college’s strategic priorities, its financial position, and enrollment growth. Those are the areas the college identified as his focus going forward, as Hiram works to strengthen its standing and attract future students to its Portage County campus.