Dr. J. Luke Wood has been appointed as the new president of California State University, Sacramento. He will begin his role on July 16, 2023. Dr. Wood joined San Diego State University (SDSU) in 2011 as a professor and in 2012 was named co-director of the Community College Equity Assessment Lab, a research and practice center focused on reducing equity gaps between students of color and their peers. In 2017, he became the first Black faculty member to be named Distinguished Professor. He has served as SDSU’s chief diversity officer since 2018 and as vice president for Student Affairs and Campus Diversity since 2020. In 2023, Dr. Wood was appointed by the California State Senate to serve on the newly established California Racial Equity Commission. Dr. Wood earned his bachelor's and master's degree from Sacramento State, and also holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. from Arizona State University. Read more here.
Dr. Stephen Perez has been appointed as the new president of California State University, Chico (Chico State). He will begin his role on July 1, 2023. Dr. Perez has spent most of his 30-year career in higher education with the CSU system, having served in academic and administrative roles at Sacramento State, including professor, department chair, interim dean, vice provost, and provost. In January 2022, Perez was appointed interim president at San José State. Dr. Perez has served as Chico State’s interim provost since January 2023, during which time he has led the university’s enrollment continuum effort and helped close a $20 million budget gap. Dr. Perez received his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, San Diego and his master’s and doctorate in economics from the University of California, Davis. Read more here.
Dr. Scott Strawn has been appointed as the Business Officer in the Office of Student Life at Baylor University. He will begin serving in this position on June 1st, 2023. Dr. Strawn joins Baylor University with 28 years of experience in higher education focusing on student development. His most recent position was as Vice President for Business and Finance/Chief Financial Officer at Southern Nazarene University, where he previously served as Vice President for Student Development. Prior to SNU, he served as the Director of Residence Life at Santa Clara University, the Director of Student Programs at Seattle Pacific University, and the Residence Life Complex Director at The University of Kansas. Dr. Strawn received his Ed.D. from The University of Kansas, his M.A. in Educational Leadership from Ball State University, and his B.A. in Mathematics from Anderson University.
The Liturgical Press’s Give Us This Day has appointed Ms. Heidi Busse as its new editor. Ms. Busse previously served as the Editorial Manager/Acquisitions Editor for Twenty Third Publications, where she managed the full project line of print and digital products and acquired and cultivated relationships with new and current authors. Along with maintaining outstanding print resources for the parish and trade markets, she developed Twenty-Third’s digital resources including their top-selling downloadable Stations of the Cross and A Consoling Embrace: Prayers in a Time of Pandemic. As a publishing leader, her extensive experience in Catholic publishing and shared commitment to the Benedictine charism make her a unique fit for this position.
Foothill-De Anza Community College District has appointed Mr. Lee Lambert, J.D. as its new Chancellor. He will begin his new role on August 1, 2023. Mr. Lambert has more than two decades of experience in community colleges at the senior executive level and has led Pima Community College since 2013. Prior to that post, Mr. Lambert served nearly eight years as the president of Shoreline Community College (WA), helping to restore the college’s financial stability and turning the college into a national leader in offering 100 percent online degrees and certificates in business and health care programs. Mr. Lambert holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from The Evergreen State College and a juris doctor from Seattle University. Read more here.
The University of Houston has appointed Mr. Timothy Council as their next Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment Services. He comes to the University with over fifteen years of experience in enrollment services across multiple institutions of higher education. Most recently, he served as an Assistant Vice President and administrative Dean at Claremont Graduate University (CA). Prior to that, he worked for the University of San Diego, in the areas of admissions, recruitment and financial aid at both their Law School and their School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES). Mr. Council received a Master of Education in Postsecondary Administration and Student Affairs from University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science coupled with a Nonprofit Management Certification from the University of San Diego.
The West Liberty University Board of Governors has named Dr. Tim Borchers as the university’s 38th president effective July 1, 2023. Dr. Borchers currently serves as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Peru State College and brings over 18 years of higher education administrative experience to the Presidency at West Liberty. Prior to his current position, Borchers served as the Dean of the College of Arts, Media, and Communication at Minnesota State University Moorhead. He holds a Ph.D. and MA in Communication from Wayne State University, and a BA in Speech Communication from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Read more here.
University of Minnesota Morris has appointed Dr. Janet Schrunk Ericksen as Chancellor as of May 15, 2023. Dr. Ericksen has been serving as the acting Chancellor of the Morris campus since July 2021 and brings deep experience and impressive accomplishments across her career and a passion for, UMN Morris and the Morris community. A professor of English, her tenure with UMN Morris spans over 20 years. She previously served as Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and Dean, and was responsible for college academic and administrative leadership, including the Education, Humanities, Math and Science, and Social Sciences academic divisions. She holds an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a B.A. in English and Art History from the University of Kansas. Read more here.