Transitions: U. of South Carolina Names New President, Lansing Community College Chief to Retire

Chief executives

Appointments

Lt. Gen. Robert L. Caslen Jr., senior counsel to the president and interim chief financial officer at the University of Central Florida and former superintendent and president of the United States Military Academy at West Point, has been named president of the University of South Carolina. He will succeed Harris Pastides, who plans to step down.

Bobbi Knight, former vice president of Alabama Power’s Birmingham division and member of the Board of Trustees at Miles College, will become interim president of Miles College on September 1. She will replace George French Jr., who has been named president of Clark Atlanta University.

Kristin Sobolik, provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of Missouri at St. Louis, will become interim chancellor on September 1. She will replace Thomas George, who plans to retire.

Edward Wingenbach, acting president of Ripon College, has been named president of Hampshire College. He will replace Ken Rosenthal, who has served as interim president since Miriam Nelson stepped down.

Resignations

Robert L. Barchi, president of Rutgers University since 2012, plans to step down after the 2019-20 academic year.

David Callender, president of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, will step down to become president and chief executive at Memorial Hermann Health System on September 1.

Retirements

James N. Baldwin, president of Excelsior College since 2016, plans to retire on July 3, 2020.

Brent Knight, president of Lansing Community College since 2008, plans to retire.

Fred Wood, chancellor of the Contra Costa Community College District since January 2017, plans to retire on March 31, 2020.

Chief academic officers

Appointments

John Caron, provost at Endicott College, has been named provost and vice president for academic affairs at Excelsior College.

Douglas Davenport, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at Missouri Western State University, has been named to the post permanently.

Marielena DeSanctis, interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs and student services at Broward College, has been named to the post permanently.

MD Isley, academic dean of business, management and information technology at Des Moines Area Community College, has been named vice president for academic affairs.

Other top administrators

Appointments

Carrie Byington, senior vice president at the Texas A&M University Health Science Center, dean of the College of Medicine, and vice chancellor for health services at the university system, will become executive vice president of the University of California Health network on October 31.

Sarah Cravens, a professor of law and former vice provost for strategic initiatives at the University of Akron, will become vice president for strategic initiatives and chief of staff at Missouri Western State University in September.

The Rev. Daniel G. Groody, an associate professor of theology and global affairs at the University of Notre Dame, has been named vice president and associate provost.

Mara Hermano, vice president for integrated planning at Rhode Island School of Design, will become vice president for institutional research and planning at Boston College on September 1.

Gary Klein, vice president for institutional advancement at Edgewood College, has been named vice president for university development and alumni engagement at Buena Vista University.

Wendy Kobler, vice president for institutional advancement at Kentucky State University, will become vice president for institutional advancement at Ithaca College on September 1.

Duane Maun, chief financial officer at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, has been named chief operating officer in addition to his current role.

Jodee McCallum, vice president for human resources at Morrissey Hospitality Companies Inc., has been named vice president for human resources and equity at Normandale Community College.

Dale Meinecke, a professor of leadership and director of the master of arts in leadership program at Dallas Baptist University, has been named vice president for development at Howard Payne University.

Sandra Miles, vice provost for student affairs and dean of students at the University of Missouri at Kansas City, has been named vice president for student affairs at Flagler College at St. Augustine, Fla.

Joy Moore, interim vice president for student affairs at Boston College since August 2018, has been named to the post permanently.

Victor E. Ramos, vice president for the Lancaster and Lebanon campuses of HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, has been named vice president for advancement at Millersville University.

Deans

Appointments

Andra Basu, dean of humanities and social sciences at Lehigh Carbon Community College, has been named the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.

Lily T. García, associate dean for education in the College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics at the University of Iowa, will become dean of the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas on September 1.

Gillian R. Hayes, a professor and chair of informatics in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of California at Irvine, will become vice provost for graduate education and dean of the graduate division on September 1.

Amy Jasperson, an associate professor and chair of political science at Rhodes College, has been named dean for faculty development.

Colin Knapp, an associate teaching professor of economics at Pennsylvania State University, has been named dean of the Gary Tharaldson School of Business at the University of Mary.

Nygil B. Likely, director of college access at Calvin University, has been named dean of student affairs at Lake Michigan College.

Kristina Bethea Odejimi, dean of students at St. Margaret’s School, in Virginia, will become dean of students at Bowdoin College on August 1.

Lisa D. Ordóñez, vice dean of academic programs in the Eller School of Management at the University of Arizona, will become dean of the Rady School of Management at the University of California at San Diego on September 1.

Natalie Person, a professor of psychology and chair of educational studies at Rhodes College, has been named dean for curricular development.

Sherrill Smith, a professor in the College of Nursing at Wright State University, has been named dean of the Fay. W Whitney School of Nursing in the College of Health Sciences at the University of Wyoming.

Other administrators

Appointments

David Barstow, an investigative reporter at The New York Times, has been named head of the investigative reporting program in the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California Berkeley.

Michael Cottam, dean and associate vice president for military campuses and online education for Webster University, has been named associate provost at the American Public University system.

Tim Huebner, a professor of history at Rhodes College, has been named associate provost.

Terry McClannon, a professor of leadership and educational studies at Appalachian State University, has been named associate dean for student affairs and program services in the university’s Reich College of Education.

Sean O’Connor, chief technology officer and assistant chief information officer at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, will become associate vice president and chief technology officer at Northeastern University on August 12.

Bryan O’Neal, vice president and dean of Moody Bible Institute Distance Learning, has been named vice president and associate provost of academic affairs and assessment.

Corey L. Posey, director of the Office of Student Life at Chesapeake College, has been named the first diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at the University of South Florida-Sarasota/Manatee.

Sarah Projansky, a professor of film and media arts and gender studies and an adjunct professor of communication at the University of Utah, has been named associate vice president for faculty.

Dean Smith, director of Cornell University Press, has been named director of Duke University Press.

Steve Warner, vice president for global competitiveness at the Charleston Regional Development Alliance, has been named assistant vice president in the Office of Corporate Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives at Clemson University.

Linnette Werner, interim assistant vice provost at the University of Minnesota, has been named associate dean of graduate programs for the College of Liberal Arts at Hamline University.

Kha Yang, inclusion programs and workforce reporting manager at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, has been named the first associate vice president for inclusive excellence at the University of St. Thomas, in Minnesota.

Organizations

Appointments

Lynette O’Keefe, director of learning enhancement in the Center for Learning Experimentation, Application, and Research at the University of North Texas, has been named director of the Research Center for Digital Learning and Leadership at the Online Learning Consortium.

Retirements

Elizabeth H. Sibolski, president and chief executive of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education since 2009, plans to retire on June 30, 2020.

Deaths

Mortimer Caplin, a professor emeritus in the University of Virginia School of Law, died on July 15. He was 103. Caplin served as the U.S. commissioner of Internal Revenue under John F. Kennedy from 1961 to 1964. He formed the law firm Caplin & Drysdale with Douglas Drysdale and continued to teach at the Law School from 1965 to 1988 as a visiting professor.

A. Pierre Guillermin, co-founder and president emeritus of Liberty University, died on July 16. He was 82. Guillermin, who led the university from 1971 to 1996, saw Lynchburg Christian Academy renamed as Liberty Baptist College and then Liberty University.

Karen R. Hitchcock, president emeritus of the University at Albany, died on July 10. She was 76. Hitchcock was the first woman to serve as president of the university, a position she held from 1996 to 2004. She also held a variety of positions at Tufts University, Texas Tech University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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