Public Institution

Dr. Emily Rutter has been appointed as the new Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, Media, and Public Affairs at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Rutter currently serves as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for Bloomfield College of Montclair State University, where she is also a professor of English. Prior to joining Montclair State, she served as the Associate Dean of the Honors College at Ball State University. She holds a Ph.D. in English with a concentration in Women's and Gender Studies from Duquesne University, an M.A. in English from North Carolia State University and a B.A. in History from the Univeristy of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She will begin her duties on campus June 29, 2026. Read more.

Dr. Kirk Bennett has been appointed as the new President at Western Technical College. He will start August 1, succeeding current President Roger Stanford, who is retiring. Dr. Bennett is currently Vice President of Administrative Services at Lone Star College-Montgomery in Texas. He serves as the institution's Chief Financial, Administrative and Compliance Officer. Previously, he served as Dean of Instruction at Lone Star College-Montgomery. He has extensive experience in workforce development, academic and administrative leadership, and student-centered programming. Dr. Bennett holds a Doctor of Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration from George Fox University. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Political Science at Portland State University. A first-generation-in-college graduate and community college alumnus, he brings a distinctive combination of financial acumen, academic leadership, and an enduring commitment to access, equity, and student success. Read more.

Dr. Chris Mallett has been appointed as the new President of Weber State University. He is slated to begin his duties on August 1. Dr. Mallett currently serves as chief administrative officer at Northeastern University’s Roux Institute. He previously spent nearly 14 years at Western Governors University as part of the institution’s founding team. Dr. Mallett earned his undergraduate degrees — associate and bachelor’s — from Weber State University, a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Utah, and a doctorate in education from Pepperdine University. Read more.

Mr. Andrew Adle has been appointed as the new Executive Director of Budget at Bowie State University. He began his duties on May 27, 2026. An accomplished higher education finance and budget professional, Mr. Adle brings more than a decade of experience in financial strategy, budget administration, and organizational modernization across institutions within the University System of Maryland. Currently serving as Budget Officer at Prince George’s Community College, he provides executive leadership for campus-wide budgeting, position control, forecasting, capital planning, and financial governance while advising senior leadership and the Board of Trustees on long-range fiscal strategy and institutional decision-making. Prior to joining Prince George’s Community College, Mr. Adle served as an Analyst at the University of Maryland College Park, where he managed and forecasted components of the institution’s $3 billion annual budget, led enterprise financial reporting initiatives, and supported state and federal compliance reporting. Earlier, at University of Maryland Global Campus, Mr. Adle held several progressively responsible roles, including Budget Analyst, Adjunct Professor of Finance and Economics, Assistant Program Director, Senior Degree Auditor, and Academic Advisor. During this time, he managed large-scale personnel budgeting and position control operations across domestic and international regions, contributed to the implementation of Adaptive Insights forecasting systems, developed financial training and reporting frameworks, and taught undergraduate courses in corporate finance, risk management, and financial management. Mr. Adle earned a Bachelor of Science in Plant Science from the University of Maryland College Park and a Master of International Financial Management from University of Maryland Global Campus.

Dr. Chris Corcoran has been appointed as the new Provost at Utah State University. Dr. Corcoran has had a distinguished career at Utah State and currently serves as an Endowed Professor of Analytics and as the department head for data analytics and information systems in the School of Business.  As noted in the press release, "He founded the Analytics Solutions Center to provide paid experiential learning and work experience opportunities to 150-plus students across USU and engage hundreds of others through extracurricular programming. Dr. Corcoran received his Ph.D. in biostatistics and genetic epidemiology from Harvard University and a B.S. in statistics and computer science from Utah State. He joined USU as an assistant professor in 1999 and became a full professor in 2011." Dr. Corcoran will assume his new position on July 1. Read more.

Dr. George Wesley Hitt has been appointed as the new Inaugural Chair of the Department of Engineering at the College of Charleston. He will begin on July 20, 2026. Dr. Hitt comes to the College of Charleston with a wealth of experience initiating and growing engineering programs at Coastal Carolina University and Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi. He is dedicated to student success, and he has experience collaborating across many disciplines including the humanities, fine arts, business, and STEM. He brings a strong background in interdisciplinary engineering, having contributed to program development and accreditation efforts both in the United States and internationally. As the Inaugural Chair of Engineering at the College of Charleston, Hitt will focus on supporting faculty excellence, growing innovative academic programs, and strengthening the College’s distinctive model of undergraduate engineering education. Dr. Hitt received a B.Sc. in Physics from Virginia Commonwealth University and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. degree in experimental nuclear physics from Michigan State University. He was previously a Postdoctoral Scholar with the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, then an Associate Professor with the Department of Nuclear Engineering, Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Following his time at Khalifa University, he served as an Associate Professor with the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University. Most recently, he was Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics and Engineering Science at Coastal Carolina University, where he achieved ABET accreditation and led significant growth in engineering enrollment, degree productivity, and student success. Under his leadership, engineering enrollment more than doubled, degree production nearly tripled, and retention of Pell-eligible and underrepresented students improved substantially through targeted mentoring and supportive program development.

Dr. Ramana Chintalapalle has been appointed as the new Director of the Ion Beam Laboratory and Professor in the Department of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the University of Albany. He will begin on September 1, 2026. Dr. Chintalapalle currently serves a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the Director of the Center for Advanced Materials Research at the University of Texas, El Paso. His research expertise is towards developing and/or engineering advanced structural materials for application in the energy production, storage and conversion, utilization and management. Dr. Chintalapalle’s is extensive contributions are towards a deeper understanding of multifunctional materials physical/chemical/electronic behavior, manufacturing and associate mechanics at the reduced (micro/nano) dimensionality, with materials/device fabrication, characterization and performance evaluation playing a significant role in his research. His research also focuses on a thin-film/surfaces/interfaces growth and plasma-based advanced manufacturing of next generation materials, which will have direct application in power generation system, batteries, fuel cells, and photovoltaics. He has been involved with various research projects related to nanomaterials, ceramic coatings, and surface/interface engineering of advanced materials. Dr. Chintalapalle earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Applied Physics and his M.S. in Physics and Electronics Engineering from Sri Venkateswara University, and his B.S. in Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry from Sri Krishnadevaray University.

Dr. Veronique V. Tran has been appointed as the new President and CEO at Gateway Technical College effective July 1, 2026. Dr. Tran comes to Gateway from Dallas College, where she served as the institution’s Founding Vice Provost for the School of Manufacturing & Industrial Technology. She is recognized for building high-impact academic, career, and technical education programs; strengthening student success outcomes; and aligning education systems with workforce demand and regional economic priorities. Her leadership is grounded in a student-centered approach and a commitment to collaborative innovation—bringing together faculty, staff, industry, and community partners to design programs and systems that expand opportunity, strengthen career pathways, and deliver results aligned with evolving workforce and regional needs. Dr. Tran earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston, and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the University of Texas at Arlington. Read more.

Dr. Juliet Spencer has been appointed as the new Dean of the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences at the College of Charleston. She will start as dean on August 1, 2026. Dr. Spencer currently serves as interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, where she has also held roles as director of the School of the Sciences and chair of the Department of Biology. A nationally recognized leader in student success, Spencer was recently honored with the 2025 Outstanding Support of Student Success by an Administrator Award from the National Organization for Student Success. Her academic background includes a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Virginia, an MBA with an emphasis in women in leadership from Texas Woman’s University and a B.S. in biotechnology from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Read more.

Dr. Denise Jones Gregory has been appointed as the new President at Jackson State University, following an eight-month national search. Dr. Gregory will officially begin her new role on May 1, 2026. Dr. Gregory most recently served as Interim President of Jackson State University, a role she has held since May 2025. In this capacity, she served as the Institutional Executive Officer, providing executive leadership to ensure operational effectiveness, strategic alignment, and advancement of the university's mission and long-term priorities. Prior to serving as Interim President, Dr. Gregory served as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Jackson State, where she provided strategic oversight for all academic units — including six colleges, graduate studies, institutional research, and the university library — and managed a $56.5 million budget comprising 46% of the university's total operating budget. Dr. Gregory earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, Magna Cum Laude, from Jackson State University and her Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Read more.