CORAOPOLIS - Robert Morris University president Edward Nicholson has announced he will retire next summer after 15 years.

During his tenure, Nicholson led the private school from a small regional business college to a university with a football team, more than two dozen degree programs and a dozen graduate programs.

Nicholson, who became the school's fourth president in 1989, will stay with the university after his retirement in June.

The school, named for a man who helped finance the Revolutionary War, was founded in 1921 to train accountants and secretaries. It became a junior college in 1962 and in 2002, Nicholson shepherded the school's transition to a university with 5,000 students.

Nicholson "has built Robert Morris into a dynamic university that is committed to high-quality professional education, scholarship and community service. Finding a successor to continue the strong example of leadership exhibited by Dr. Nicholson will be a difficult task," said Joseph W. Nocito, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Nocito said the university has already appointed a search committee to find Nicholson's replacement.