Northwestern's ninth president, Greg Christy, has a collaborative, team-oriented leadership style, warm relational skills, a strong Christian faith, and the ability to work with others to form vision and build support for the mission of NWC. Under his leadership, Northwestern has developed and implemented strategic and campus master plans and adopted new mission, vision, diversity and Christian identity statements. The college has also added a number of academic majors and launched online and graduate programs, expanding Northwestern's reach and helping to set multiple enrollment records. In 2023, Northwestern became certified as a Best Christian Workplace.
Numerous campus improvements have been made during his tenure, including construction of the $24.5 million DeWitt Family Science Center in 2018 and the $14 million DeWitt Learning Commons in 2013; renovations in the Bultman Center, Rowenhorst Student Center, cafeteria and Ramaker Center; and construction of the Vogel Welcome Center, Juffer Athletic Fieldhouse and North Suites Hall. The latest campus addition is a new $14 million women's residence hall that opened in August 2024, named Christy Suites in honor of him and his wife, Michelle, at the request of the project's lead donors: Mary DeWitt of Holland, Michigan, and her five children—Jim, Steve, Jackie, Laurie and Linda—and their spouses.
President Christy is chair of the Great Plains Athletic Conference's Council of Presidents and serves on its executive committee. He also serves on the executive committee for the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges & Universities.
Before coming to Northwestern in 2008, President Christy was a senior executive at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, South Dakota, for 12 years. While DWU’s vice president for institutional advancement, he led a nine-member staff in the successful completion of a $40 million capital campaign, which included building the George and Eleanor McGovern Library and Center for Leadership and Public Service.
President Christy previously worked on the staffs of South Dakota State University and Iowa State University. A native of Ottumwa, Iowa, he earned a bachelor’s degree in management from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, and a master’s degree in physical education and sports management from Western Illinois University.
A lifelong fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, President Christy is a 7-handicap golfer, a tenor who enjoys singing on church worship teams, and a self-described newspaper junkie. He and his wife, Michelle, to whom he has been married for more than 30 years, are members of Trinity Reformed Church in Orange City. They are the parents of Ryan, Madalyn and Kyle and grandparents of Ellis and Layne.