HANNIBAL, MO -- Hannibal LaGrange University has elected a new president.

The board of trustees announced the unanimous selection of Anthony Allen as the 17th president of the school at the close of Saturday's commencement exercises on campus.

Allen comes from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City.

The search for a new president began last November when Woodrow Burt, who has been HLGU's president since 1995, announced plans to retire this summer.