President/Chancellors

Dr. Michael E. Hill has been appointed as the new president at Randolph-Macon College. The appointment is effective August 1, 2025. Dr. Hill will join the Randolph-Macon community after completing his tenure as President of Chautauqua Institution, an educational community in western New York dedicated to engaged dialogue and cultural enrichment. Dr. Hill previously led the non-profit Youth for Understanding USA and served in senior roles at United Cerebral Palsy, Washington National Cathedral, and The Washington Ballet. He was also a founding faculty member at George Mason University's Master of Arts Management program, where he taught in an adjunct role for more than a decade and was named faculty member of the year in 2011. Dr. Hill earned a B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication from St. Bonaventure University, an M.A. in Arts & Cultural Management from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, and an Ed.D. from Vanderbilt University. Read more.

Dr. Dean Pribbenow has been appointed as the new president at Millikin University, effective July 1, 2025. Dr. Pribbenow currently serves as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty at Elmhurst University, a position he’s held since 2020. With over 20 years of experience in academic leadership, Dr. Pribbenow served as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean at Edgewood College before moving to Elmhurst. At Elmhurst, Dr. Pribbenow oversaw a $35M operating budget. He co-led the effort to secure the designation of Elmhurst University as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, writing a successful $3.4M Title V grant to support the project. He also contributed to comprehensive campaign activities and has a breadth of experience in fundraising and institutional advancement. Dr. Pribbenow earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Luther College and a Master of Science in Counseling with a Higher Education Concentration from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He earned a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Read more.

Dr. Jermaine Whirl has been appointed as the new president at Savannah State University (SSU), effective April 1, 2025. Dr. Whirl, an Aspen Fellow, most recently served as president of Augusta Technical College (ATC), a role he has held since November 2020. Dr. Whirl’s career includes nearly 20 years of service as a faculty member and administrative leader at public colleges and universities in his home state of South Carolina and in Georgia. He has previously worked at several institutions, including Greenville Technical College, Savannah Technical College, Georgia Southern University and East Georgia State University. Dr. Whirl grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, and earned an associate of arts degree at Trident Technical College and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Winthrop University. He holds an MBA in business administration from Charleston Southern University, an M.Ed. in adult education and community leadership from Armstrong State University (now Georgia Southern University) and an Ed.D. in organizational leadership from Valdosta State University. Read more.

Mr. Shane Smeed has been appointed as the new President at Utah Tech University. Mr. Smeed, a Utah native, has served as president of Park University in Missouri since November 2020 and brings over 25 years of experience in higher education to the new role.  He began his tenure with Park University in 2015, where he served as the Vice President of Enrollment and Student Services, then became the Chief Operating Officer in 2016, and ascended to the Presidency in 2020. He holds a Master of Arts degree in student personnel administration from Saint Louis University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Keller Graduate School of Management. Read more.

David M. Bellar has been appointed as the fifth President of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University. He will assume his new role on July 14, 2025. Dr. Bellar joins FranU from the University of West Florida where he serves as the Dean of Usha Kundu, MD College of Health. During his tenure, he received a $6.68 million grant to enhance health education facilities, secured scholarship funding and gifts of space for immersive learning experiences at two hospitals, aided in implementing strategies to improve NCLEX pass rates to 98% for the School of Nursing, created the first Staff Council on campus, helped secure a partnership with two major hospital systems to support clinical space for nursing programs, and developed a virtual cadaver lab to enhance Anatomy and Physiology education. Dr. Bellar holds a Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from Kent State University, a M.Ed. in Secondary Education from John Carroll University and a B.S in Biology and Life Science Chemistry from John Carroll University. Read more.

Kenneth T. Christensen has been appointed as the new Chancellor for University of Colorado Denver (CU-Denver). He will officially begin on February 1, 2025. Dr. Christensen joins CU-Denver from Illinois Institute of Technology, where he served as provost, senior vice president for academic affairs, and chief academic officer. During this time, he built a diverse leadership team that collaboratively emphasized strong shared governance to ensure the growth and success of Illinois Tech’s diverse student population. Dr. Christensen also co-led Illinois Tech’s path to Hispanic-Serving Institution status and drove strategic fundraising and partnership building to expand the institution’s impact in education, research and economic development while also ensuring it was a foundational partner in regional research consortia. Prior to Illinois Tech, he served on the faculty at Notre Dame, the University of Illinois and the University of New Mexico. Dr. Christensen earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico. He earned a master’s from the California Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Read more.

Mr. Matt Parlow has been appointed as the new President of Chapman University. He will assume the presidency on September 2, 2025. Mr. Parlow currently serves as executive vice president, chief advancement officer, and the Parker S. Kennedy Chair in Law at Chapman. Over his 12 years at Chapman, Mr. Parlow has been instrumental in propelling the institution toward becoming one of the nation’s elite academic universities as a member of executive leadership and an administrator-scholar. Matt has led Inspire: The Campaign for Chapman University that has raised more than $400 million to date—the largest and most ambitious fundraising initiative in the university’s history. Prior to this position, Mr. Parlow enhanced the standing and performance of the Dale E. Fowler School of Law while serving as the dean and Donald P. Kennedy Chair in Law. His accomplishments, among many, include improving the school’s U.S. News & World Report ranking by more than 20 spots and recruiting the most diverse and high-performing classes in the law school’s history. Before joining Chapman, Mr. Parlow served as a professor and an associate dean for academic affairs at Marquette University Law School, where he improved the school’s skills-based course selection and employment ranking, and he taught property, land use, legislation and sports law—his area of academic expertise which he co-taught with Major League Baseball Commissioner Emeritus Bud Selig. Earlier in his career, he practiced law at the prominent firm Manatt, Phelps, and Phillips and clerked for Judge Pamela Ann Rymer of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He also worked in the White House’s Office of the Legal Counsel and for the Office of Mayor Richard J. Riordan as a press deputy and policy analyst in Los Angeles, his hometown. He earned his undergraduate degree in history from Loyola Marymount University and his J.D. from Yale Law School. Read more.

Dr. Mark Blegen has been appointed as the new President of Linfield University effective July 1, 2025. Dr. Blegen currently serves as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Carroll University, a 3,300-student liberal arts university in Waukesha, Wisconsin. At Carroll, he oversaw a $40 million academic affairs budget, took part in comprehensive fundraising campaigns and played a key role in creating and implementing inclusive hiring practices for faculty and staff. Under his leadership, Carroll launched its first Ph.D program, expanded masters-level offerings and partnered with a high school in downtown Milwaukee to offer an on-site associate degree program, Carroll University’s first. The associate degree in nursing (ADN) focuses on educating and developing bilingual nurses. Previously, Dr. Blegen held posts at St. Catherine University in Minnesota. He served as associate dean, then dean of the Henrietta Schmoll School of Health Sciences and chaired the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Science. He began his academic career teaching as an assistant professor at Mount Union College and Springfield College. Blegen holds a doctorate in exercise physiology from Kent State University, a master’s degree in exercise physiology from St. Cloud University and a Bachelor of Arts in sports science with a sports medicine focus from St. Olaf College. Read more.

Dr. Andrew Barnes has been appointed as the new President of Pennsylvania College of Art & Design. Dr. Barnes currently serves as the Dean of the School of the Arts, Communication, and Global Studies, and of the School of Behavioral Sciences and Education at York College of Pennsylvania. For eleven years prior to coming to York, Barnes worked at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, and for eight of those years served as the Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Barnes is a leader in higher education with advanced degrees in the arts and humanities. He is a community-focused executive with exceptional communication skills and a leadership style that fosters communication, transparency, and trust. Dr. Barnes holds a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Indianapolis, a M.A. in Humanities and Social Thought from New York University, as well as a Ph.D. in English from SUNY-Stony Brook. Most recently, Dr. Barnes earned his M.F.A. in Creative Non-Fiction from Bennington Writing Seminars. Read more.

Spalding University has successfully appointed Dr. Anne Kenworthy as their next President. Dr. Kenworthy will officially assume her new role on January 1, 2025. Dr. Kenworthy’s academic and professional journey has uniquely prepared her to lead Spalding University. Before her tenure at the University of Findlay, she held multiple leadership positions at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, TN, including Associate Vice President for Donor Relations, Academic Dean for adult and undergraduate programs, and Vice President of Enrollment, where she achieved record-breaking enrollment numbers. Dr. Kenworthy has also served as Vice President of Advancement and Planning at Crichton College and contributed to K-12 mathematics teacher development at the University of Memphis. Dr. Kenworthy holds a B.S. in Mathematics and an Ed.D. in higher education from the University of Memphis, an MBA from Christian Brothers University, and a Fundraising Management Certificate from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. She is a respected speaker at regional and national conferences, with expertise in strategic enrollment, college access, student success, women’s leadership, and victim’s rights. Read more.