Public Institution

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.

The University of Wisconsin - La Crosse has appointed Mr. John Acardo as the new Director of Human Resources/Chief Resources Officer. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Acardo served as the Chief Human Resources Officer at North Central College since 2016.

The San Diego State University dean of the school of sciences search committee has appointed Dr. Jeffrey Roberts to the position. Prior to the appointment, Dr. Roberts was a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Purdue University. Dr. Roberts will begin his appointment on January 31, 2019.

The University of Minnesota Board of Regents appointed Joan T.A. Gabel as the University's 17th President by unanimous vote on the morning of December 18, 2018. She assumed the office on July 1, 2019.

The University of the District of Columbia Board of Trustees recently approved the appointment of Dr. Lawrence T. Potter, Jr., as UDC's Chief Academic Officer, effective February 1, 2019. Dr. Potter currently serves as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of La Verne. Prior to his work at the University of La Verne, he served as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Jackson State University. He has also held leadership positions at Allegheny College, the University of St. Thomas, and Western Michigan University. Dr. Potter earned a B.A. in English, Religion, and Philosophy from Stillman College, and he received an M.A. and Ph.D. in English - Literature and Criticism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Southern Connecticut State University has appointed Dr. Manohar Singh as the Dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies.  Dr. Manohar comes to SCSU from Humboldt State University, where he has served as Dean of the College of Professional Studies and Professor of Finance.  Prior to his role at HSU, he served as Division Head for the Division of Business and Social Sciences at Penn State University Abington and Interim Chair of the Department of Finance at Long Island University.  Dr. Singh is a proven fund raiser, with collaborations that have raised $10 million for an endowed R.N. to B.S.N. program.  He has been active in AACSB accreditation activities, development of various graduate and other degree programs, and has over 40 published manuscripts in leading business journals.  He received the 2011 Teaching Excellence Award at Penn State Grand Valley where he also served as Chair of the Faculty Senate.  He will join SCSU on February 1, 2019.

The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education has unanimously selected Dr. Aaron Thompson as its fourth President. Dr. Thompson currently serves as the Council's Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer. He is the first Kentucky native and African-American to hold the position since the Council was formed 21 years ago.  For more information about the appointment, please see the announcement on the Kentucky CPE website by clicking here.