MARYVILLE, Mo. — Nearly a quarter century into his presidency at Northwest Missouri State University, Dr. Dean Hubbard announced Thursday that he will retire in July 2009.

“I wasn’t expecting to do that,” Dr. Hubbard said of his record-long term as president of Northwest. “I came expecting to stay a respectable four or five years.”

Dr. Hubbard, 69, said in an interview with the News-Press that he’s making the announcement a year in advance to give the university time to find a suitable candidate to take his place. He noted that of all the presidents at Missouri public higher education institutions, none served as president prior to their current positions.

“It tells you that there aren’t a lot of sitting presidents who are moving,” he said. “I want to give the university the greatest opportunity to fish in deeper waters.”

Dr. Hubbard, who has a home in Kansas City with a son and daughters and grandchildren nearby, plans to write a book about the culture of quality that he established at Northwest. He’ll also continue to consult with universities in England about quality in education.

The culture of quality is a continuous quality improvement program that Dr. Hubbard “bet the farm” on when he arrived, though the program met with some trepidation from faculty and staff. Quality initiatives were unheard of in educational circles at that time and took several years to establish at Northwest.

“The last 15 years have really been fun,” he said. “People pulling together has really been remarkable.”

Dr. Hubbard arrived at Northwest during a particularly bleak time — Northwest’s neck was on the chopping block. Just before Dr. Hubbard moved his family from Nebraska to Maryville, he said the higher education commissioner of Missouri pulled him into her office to let him know what he was up against.

“'There is a move underway to close your institution and convert it to a prison,’” the commissioner, Shaila Aery, told Dr. Hubbard, who said this was his single largest obstacle to overcome. He asked where the she stood on the issue. “'I’m not going to decide until I hear what you’re going to do as president,’” Ms. Aery responded.

Despite a declining population north of the Missouri River, Northwest is on a 20 percent growth pattern over the next five years. Dr. Hubbard attributes the growth to the culture of quality and word of mouth from satisfied students.

“There is an unusual level of pride in this institution in the part of the people that go here,” Dr. Hubbard said.

With no fear of being a lame duck president during his final year, Dr. Hubbard said he intends to “ratchet up” the rigor in academics, establish reading lists appropriate to each discipline, and for each department to update its mission statements for the incoming president.

“I’ve got several things I want to do,” he said. “If I leave here and there is nothing to do, I should have left a year earlier.”

Dr. Hubbard’s contract, which expires next year, stipulates that he will serve at the pleasure of the next president during the transition period. He also plans to attend football games and other special events, but “won’t be so visible that it’s a distraction,” after he retires.

“This has been our life,” Dr. Hubbard said of he and his wife Alita’s ties to Northwest.