Public Institution

Midwestern State University - Texas has announced the appointment of Dr. Beth Reissenweber as Vice President of Finance and Administration effective August 15.  Dr. Reissenweber comes to MSU after serving as Vice President for Finance and Administration at Augsburg University and as Vice President for Finance and Treasurer at Aurora University.  She has also progressed through positions of increasing responsibility at Roosevelt University.  Her PhD in Educational Studies is from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, her MBA from Indiana University, and she holds the BS in Business Administration from Elmhurst College.

The Hugh A. Glauser School of Music and the College of the Arts at Kent State University have announced the appointment of Dr. Kent McWilliams as the next Director of the School of Music. Currently, Dr. McWilliams serves as a Professor of Music and Associate Dean of Fine Arts at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.  An accomplished, award-winning pianist and educator, Dr. McWilliams, D.M.A., holds music performance degrees from the University of Toronto and the University of Montreal as well as an Artist Diploma from the Stuttgart Musikhochschule.

The State University of New York (SUNY) Geneseo has announced the appointment of Dr. Costas Solomou as its new Vice President for Enrollment Management. He will begin his new position on August 8. Dr. Solomou currently serves as Dean of Undergraduate Admissions and Orientation at George Washington University (GW). Prior to joining GW, he was Dean of Admissions at Queens University of Charlotte, NC, and before that, he led undergraduate admissions activities at the University of Rochester. Dr. Solomou received his bachelor’s degree from St. John Fisher College and his master’s and doctorate from the University of Rochester.  Read more here.

Helena College has announced the appointment of Dr. Laura Vosejpka as its new CEO/Dean. Dr. Vosejpka currently serves as the founding Dean of the College of Sciences and Liberal Arts at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan. Dr. Vosejpka has a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BA in Chemistry and English from The Ohio State University. Read more here.

The Montana Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education has announced the appointment of Dr. Les Cook as Montana Technological University's 12th Chancellor. Dr. Cook will begin his role as chancellor on July 1, 2019, succeeding Don Blackketter who is retiring after serving as the university’s chancellor since 2011.  Dr. Cook currently serves as Vice President for Strategic University Partnerships at Michigan Technological University. Read more here.

Florida State College at Jacksonville’s District Board of Trustees unanimously selected Dr. John Avendano, from Kankakee, Illinois, to serve as the sixth president of FSCJ.

Missouri Western State University has announced the appointment of Matthew Wilson, J.D., as its fifth President.  Mr. Wilson is a former president and current faculty member in the School of Law at the University of Akron. While president, Mr. Wilson helped lead the University of Akron to a remarkable two-year budgetary turnaround, eliminating a projected $30 million deficit in 2016-2017 and adding $12 million to reserves. Wilson also participated in fundraising efforts that saw a substantial increase in donations including a $20 million Making a Difference Moving Forward student scholarship campaign and the largest single gift in university history.  Read more here.

Lebanon Valley College has selected Dr. Monica Cowart as their new vice president of academic affairs effective July 1, 2019.  Dr. Cowart is currently the vice provost at Merrimack College and will bring with her to campus extensive leadership experience with graduate and online education, enrollment management, assessment, strategic planning, global education, honors programming, budgeting, faculty hiring, and fundraising. She has spent nearly 20 years at Merrimack, where she rose from professor to department chair, associate dean, and vice provost. During that time, Merrimack has grown from an enrollment of 2,500 to more than 4,500. Last year, Dr. Cowart was named a fellow of the American Council on Education (ACE). Dr. Cowart received her bachelor’s degree in philosophy with research honors from Illinois Wesleyan University, a graduate certificate in women’s studies from the University of Georgia, and a master’s in counseling psychology from Lesley University. She completed her doctorate in the philosophy of psychology with a dissertation on embodied cognition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She joins LVC with tenure and full professorship status. For more information: https://www.lvc.edu/news/details/dr-monica-cowart-named-next-vice-president-of-academic-affairs/

Following a national search, Jason Woods has accepted the position of Vice President for Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) at St. Cloud State University.

The University of the District of Columbia has appointed Renee Hutchins as the next Dean of the David A. Clarke School of Law at the University of the District of Columbia. Ms. Hutchins comes from the University of Maryland Carey School of Law where she was the Co-Director of the Clinical Law Program. She begins her professional progression at UDC in April 2019.