Geoffrey Bannister has been named president of Hawaii Pacific University, the school announced today.

Bannister, described as a global academic professional, will begin his term July 1.

He replaces current president Chatt G. Wright, who has been with the university since 1972 when it was known as Hawaii Pacific College. Wright announced his impending retirement last year.

Bannister was chosen by HPU’s board of trustees from a list of three finalists first announced in November.

He served as president of Butler University in Indianapolis for 12 years.

Prior to that, he was dean of liberal arts and the graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Boston University.

More recently, Bannister was president of both the Study Abroad Foundation and Cultural Experiences Abroad. He is the founding president of the Forum on Education Abroad.

Born in the United Kingdom, he was reared in New Zealand where he received his bachelor of arts and masters of arts degrees in geography from the University of Otago. He earned a Ph.D in geography from the University of Toronto before coming to the U.S. to pursue his academic career.