Anyone who reads this blog knows that I’m a big fan of Mark Noll, one of the sharpest minds in the field of religious history and Christian thought and one of the most prominent evangelical thinkers in the world. I had the chance to briefly rub elbows with Noll when I was a student at Wheaton and have enjoyed the many books that he’s written over the years.

Noll did his undergraduate work at Wheaton, received his M.A. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and his PhD from Vanderbilt. He’s taught at Wheaton for many years and is widely considered to be one of the the school’s greatest assets.

The news broke last week that Noll has decided to leave Wheaton for a post at Notre Dame. Noll will replace the retiring George Marsden, which would be something like Michael Jordan taking Larry Bird’s roster spot. It seems appropriate, as much as it hurts Wheaton’s academic standing.

There’s an interesting backstory about this move that I find interesting. The last time Wheaton College launched a search for a new president was in the early 1990s when Dick Chase retired. At the time, the smart money was on Nathan Hatch, who graduated from Wheaton and was a member of Notre Dame’s faculty at the time. Hatch was a well-respected scholar with strong ties to Wheaton. Near the end of the search process, Hatch’s appointment was almost a given. At some point, though, there was a change of heart on the part of the trustees. They decided instead to appoint Duane Litfin, a pastor of professor with ties to Wheaton. Hatch went on to become provost of Notre Dame and was just recently named president of Wake Forest.

What does that have to do with Noll leaving Wheaton? I have no idea. But I thought it was an interesting story. It does seem like a lot of very talented people have exited Wheaton in the last 10 years or so. Most have gone on to other institutions where they have remained successful.