Independent Institution

The California Institute of Integral Studies has selected S. Brock Blomberg, Ph.D., as its sixth President. He will begin serving on September 1. Before arriving at CIIS, Dr. Blomberg was President of Ursinus College in Collegeville, PA, and Dean of the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, CA, where he also served as the Peter K. Barker Professor of Economics and the George R. Roberts Fellow. Earlier, Dr. Blomberg worked as faculty at Wellesley College, and was a visiting scholar at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. Dr. Blomberg is an internationally known political economist, scholar, and author, with deep roots in national and global economic policy. He served as a senior economist for the President’s Council of Economic Advisers and was the U.S. Representative to the Economic Committee for Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation. He holds a BS in Economics, with honors, from the University of Tampa, and received his MA and PhD in Economics from Johns Hopkins University. Read more here.

Salem College has appointed Mr. David Browning as Interim Vice President for Finance and Administration. He will assume the role in July, 2021.

Mount Mercy University has announced the appointment of Dr. Todd Olson as its 11th president. Dr. Olson will begin his duties as president on July 21, 2021. Since 2003, Dr. Todd Olson has served as the Vice President for Student Affairs at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. A Minnesota native, Dr. Olson earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota-Morris and went on to receive his master’s degree in counseling psychology at the University of Kansas. He earned his PhD in higher education from the University of Denver, where he also worked in a variety of positions and was one of the founders of the Pioneer Leadership Program, a signature academic and residential learning program. Read more here.

Fairleigh Dickinson University has appointed Dr. Uchenna Baker as FDU’s Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, effective August 1, 2021. Dr. Baker is currently the Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students at The University of Puget Sound. A New Jersey native, Dr. Baker holds a Ph.D. in educational policy with a focus on urban education, an M.Ed. in counseling psychology, and a B.A. in English and sociology, all from Rutgers University. She is currently completing her MBA at the Louisiana State University Shreveport School of Business. Read more here.

Mr. John Sanders has been appointed as Interim Director of Human Resources at Earlham College.

Springfield College has announced that Dr. Rachel Rubinstein of Florence, MA, has been named dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. She will officially begin her role on July 12, 2021. Most recently, she has been serving as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Commissioner of Academic Affairs and Student Success at the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education.  Dr. Rubinstein received her BA from Yale University in English and her PhD from Harvard University in English and American literature. Read more here.

The Board of Directors of the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research has named Dr. Jacqueline Bussie, an award-winning author, speaker, public theologian, and religion professor at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, as its 5th executive director. Dr. Bussie will begin her new role on September 1, 2021. She received her PhD in Theology, Ethics, and Culture from the University of Virginia, where she was the Graduate School Dissertation Year Fellowship Winner in 2001-2 among other distinctions. Dr. Bussie also holds a MA in Religion from Yale University and a BA from Davidson College, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with Honors. Read more here.

Bennett College has appointed Dr. Laura Colson as their new Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Colson is currently serving as the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs for Johnson C. Smith University.  Prior to this position, Dr. Colson served as JCSU’s Dean of the Metropolitan College of Professional Studies. Dr. Colson brings her vast academic and administrative experience at HBCU’s to Bennett’s Senior Leadership team at a time of great transition for the College. She holds an Ed.D. in Curriculum & Instruction from Gardner-Webb University, a Master of Education in Curriculum & Supervision from The University of North Carolina, Charlotte and a BA in Elementary Education from The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Read more here.

Dr. Robert Pignatello has been appointed Senior Vice President for University Operations at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Dr. Pignatello is currently the Senior Advisor to the Chancellor of the Pennsylvania System of Higher Education for Integration Strategy. Previously, he was the President of Lock Haven University, Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Before assuming a presidency, he was Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Operation Officer at Hunter College (CUNY).  He also served in a similar position at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY). He holds a Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership and Management from Saint Peter’s University, a Master’s of Public Administration from Rutgers University, and a BA in Political Science and Public Administration from Montclair State University. Dr. Pignatello will begin at FDU on June 1, 2021. Read More Here.

Clarkson University has appointed Dr. Alisha Ohl as the Chair of Occupational Therapy.  Dr. Ohl's field of expertise includes Pediatric Assessment and Intervention, Autism and employment, and Psychometrics.  She earned her Ph.D. in Occupational Therapy from New York University and her M.S. and B.S. degrees in Occupational Therapy from Ithaca College, NY.