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Anderson University president John Pistole, J.D. ’81, has announced he will retire at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. Pistole became the university’s fifth president in 2015 after serving as head of the Transportation Security Administration under former President Barack Obama.

During Pistole’s tenure, Anderson University added 17 undergraduate majors, including cybersecurity and engineering, as well as a master’s degree in organization leadership and multiple certificate offerings, the university said. He also helped secure more than $7 million in grants to fund various projects. The university said it is also on track to welcome a freshman class that is 15% larger than the 2023-24 academic year.

Pistole began a career with the FBI in 1983 before he rose through the ranks and was appointed deputy director in 2004. He was nominated by President Barack Obama to be director of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), a role he took over in summer 2010. As head of the TSA, Pistole led a 60,000-strong workforce, and oversaw the security operations of more than 450 airports throughout the United States.

Pistole’s family has a long history with Anderson University. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Anderson University in 1978, and both of his parents were alumni. The General Assembly of the Church of God founded the university in 1917.

Pistole received the law school’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009 and delivered the law school’s graduation celebration address that same year.