Overview The principals/presidents of the institution are elected by the Board of Trustees. In 1872, the Board of Trustees elected George P. Beard as the first principal of the Cumberland Valley Normal School. The Board of Trustees reserved the right to choose each principal/president of the school until sometime in the 20th century when the Board of Trustees began to use a Presidential Selection Committee that was represented by members from the "faculty, student body, alumni, and Board of Trustees"...