Public Institution

Sam Houston State University has appointed Dr. Emily A. Roper as the Dean of the College of Health Sciences. Dr. Roper has served as Interim Dean of the College since August 2021. A professor of Kinesiology, Dr. Roper brings over 16 years of experience to the role, having previously served as chair of the Department of Kinesiology, assistant dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and associate dean for the college. Dr. Roper holds a Ph.D. in Sport and Exercise Psychology/Cultural Studies from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, an MS in Community Health/Sport and Exercise Psychology from the University of Toronto, and a BA in Psychology from Kent State University. Read more here.

Western Colorado University has announced the appointment of Mr. William Bradley (Brad) Baca as their 14th President.  Mr. Baca is currently the Executive Vice President and COO at Western and previously served as the university's interim president in 2013. He is a Colorado native and a first-generation college student of Hispanic descent. He holds a B.A. in Government from Dartmouth College and an M.A. from the University of Colorado-Boulder, and has served in various leadership roles in Colorado for nearly 20 years now. Read more here.

The University of The Bahamas (UB) has announced the appointment of Dr. Erik Rolland, an academic with 30 years of experience, as the next president of UB. The appointment takes effect on 1st August 2022. He currently serves as Dean of the College of Business Administration, interim Dean of the College of the Extended University, Chief International Officer and the Provost’s Associate for Strategic Transformation at California Polytechnic and State University. Read more here.

The North Dakota State Board of Higher Education has selected Dr. David Cook as the 15th President of North Dakota State University. Dr. Cook currently serves as Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs & Economic Development at the University of Kansas (KU). Previous positions include Vice Chancellor of the KU Edwards Campus and Associate Vice Chancellor of the Institute for Community Engagement at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He earned his B.A. in Political Science/Speech Communication from Iowa State University and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Organizational Communication from the University of Kansas. Read more here.

Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) has selected Dr. Thomas M. Martin as the next dean of the College of Business. Martin will begin his new role in March, 2022. Dr. Martin currently holds a joint appointment at EKU as Associate Provost for Research and Executive Director of the Center for Economic Development, Entrepreneurship & Technology (CEDET). He is also an Assistant Professor of Management in the College of Business. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Martin was Senior Fellow for Research and Economic Policy at the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, creating the Kentucky Graduate Research Roundtable and the Kentucky Consortium for Undergraduate Research. Earlier, he was a Visiting Professor of Government at EKU. Dr. Martin earned his masters and doctorate in Political Science from the University of Kentucky and his MBA from EKU. Read more here.
 

The Southern University System Board of Supervisors has selected Dennis J. Shields as the next President of the Southern University System and Chancellor of Southern University and A&M College. Previously, Mr. Shields served as Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville since 2010.

Durham Tech Community College has announced the appointment of Mr. Abraham Dones as its new Vice President and Chief Student Services Officer. He begins his new position on March 1, 2022. Mr. Dones currently serves as the College’s Registrar and Assistant Dean of Admissions, Registrations, and Records. Prior to this position, Mr. Dones served as an Academic Advisor/Instructor at Durham Tech. Mr. Dones is a strategic leader with expert qualifications in budget management, employee retention, equity/inclusion/diversity facilitation and career and academic counseling. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, a Master of Science in Higher Education Administration from Drexel University and is completing the Community College Leadership Doctoral Program at North Carolina State University. Read more here.

 

Dr. Kara Battle has been selected as the Chief Academic Officer for Durham Technical Community College. Dr. Battle has served as the interim CAO at Durham Tech since April 2021 and has a long history with the institution. She has 28 years of experience in higher education, including her time as Dean of Science and Math at Durham Tech. She served as Director of Education at the Julius L. Chambers Biomedical and Biotechnology Research Institute at North Carolina Central University, and worked at Guilford Technical Community College, North Carolina A&T University, and Wytheville Community College (VA). Read more here.

The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees has appointed Richard Yao, Ph.D., to serve as the fourth president of California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) after serving as interim president since January 2021. Dr. Yao is a licensed clinical psychologist who came to CSUCI from Nevada State College.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has appointed Ms. Shari Mickey-Boggs as Senior Associate Chancellor for Human Resources.  She will begin her new role on March 1, 2022. Ms. Mickey-Boggs is currently serving as the Chief Human Resources Officer & Secretary to the Board of Trustees for Wright State University. With over 18 years’ experience, her previous positions include senior HR positions with Xavier University and Ohio State University. Ms. Mickey-Boggs holds an MBA from Franklin University and a BA in Political Science from Ohio State University. Read more here.