Independent Institution

Fresno Pacific University has successfully appointed Dr. Alison Noble as their next provost and senior vice president of academic affairs. Dr. Noble will begin her new role on August 5, 2024. Dr. Noble comes from Messiah University, a Council for Christian Colleges & Universities member affiliated with the Brethren In Christ, a denomination related to the Mennonite Brethren, which sponsors Fresno Pacific University. There since 2010, she has served as interim provost—her current position—associate provost, assistant provost and director of faculty development, special assistant to the provost, and professor of chemistry. She is an accomplished scholar and educator with a publication and speaking record in chemistry, education, and faith and learning. Prior to Messiah, Noble was a visiting assistant professor at George Fox University and the University of Portland and a senior process engineer at Intel Corporation. Dr. Noble has a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a B.S. in Chemistry from Westmont College. She is also a 2023 graduate of the Institute for Management and Leadership in Higher Education from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Read more.

Mount Saint Mary College has successfully appointed Dr. Robert Gervasi as their next President. Dr. Gervasi will begin his new role June 17, 2024. Dr. Gervasi has more than three decades of experience in higher education administration, including 14 years as a college president. He also has extensive teaching experience, having taught courses in Greek and Roman civilization, religion, historiography, business, philosophy, ethics, and more. Prior to his career in higher education, he worked in marketing and communications serving major firms including Bristol-Myers and Procter & Gamble. He earned an Honors AB in Classics from Xavier University, an MA and PhD in Classics from The Ohio State University, and an MBA in Marketing from the Wharton School. A former Fullbright Scholar, he now serves as Board Chair of the Fulbright Association. Read more.

The University of Dubuque has successfully appointed Dr. Travis Frampton as their next President. Dr. Frampton will succeed President Bullock, who is currently the longest serving president in UD's history. He will begin his new role June 1, 2024. Dr. Frampton has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas, since July 2019. He also is Schreiner's Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges liaison as well as Schreiner's Title IX coordinator. As provost and vice president for academic affairs at Schreiner University, Dr. Frampton created a new academic learning ecosystem for the campus, implemented new academic programs, designed relevant and innovative academic majors, developed mission-critical co-curricular programs, consistently maintained a balanced budget and created ways to improve efficiency, established graduate school pipelines for undergraduates, added resources to increase support for faculty development, and more. Dr. Frampton earned a bachelor of arts in religion from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, a master of arts in religion from Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut, and a dual doctor of philosophy degree in philosophy and religion from Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (philosophy) in the Netherlands and Baylor University (religion) in Waco, Texas. Read more.

Dr. Laura McGrane has been appointed as the new Provost of Lafayette College. Dr. McGrane will join Lafayette College on July 1st. Since 2021, Dr. McGrane has served as the Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives at Haverford College.

The University of San Diego has successfully appointed Dr. Darren Kew as the next Dean of the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies. Dr. Kew holds a Ph.D. from Tufts University and brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise in peacebuilding, conflict resolution, and international relations. He is a professor and former Chair of the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance, and Executive Director of the Center for Peace, Democracy, and Development at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Additionally, Dr. Kew has advised democracy and peace initiatives to the United Nations, USAID, US State Department, and several NGOs, including the Carter Center and the Nobel Peace Prize-nominated Interfaith Mediation Centre in Kaduna, Nigeria. Read more. 

Seton Hall University has successfully appointed Monsignor Joseph Reilly, S.T.L, Ph.D as the University's 22nd president. Over half of Monsignor Reilly's life has been spent on the South Orange campus of Seton Hall. First as a Prep and college student, later coming back in 2002 as a University administrator, then as Rector/Dean of Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, and now as Vice Provost for Academics and Catholic Identity. He believes his long tenure at Seton Hall has given him a unique appreciation for the University and the potential that lies within. Monsignor Reilly has earned many awards and appointments over the years. He was named a Missionary of Mercy by His Holiness, Pope Francis. The Missionaries of Mercy are priests from around the world who are to be living signs of the Father's welcome to all those in search of His forgiveness. Reilly was also selected as an honoree among the 2015 Irish Education 100. Sponsored by the Irish Voice, the honor was conferred by the Irish Consul General in Manhattan, NYC, on December 9, 2015. Reilly holds a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from Georgian University and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from Pontificio Instituto Teresianum in Rome. He also holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Administration from Fordham University in New York. Read more.

Wheaton College (MA) has successfully appointed Dr. Sean Schofield as their new Assistant Vice President for Life and Career Design. Dr. Schofield currently serves as the Executive Director of Career Services at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. As the Executive Director, Schofield provided strategic leadership and oversight for a centralized college-wide career services division. Schofield also leveraged data to understand and develop a methodology to individualize career interventions (Muhlenberg Action Plan) which has been developed and successfully launched to all first-year Muhlenberg students. Prior to his work at Muhlenberg College, Schofield served as the Associate Director of Graduate Career Advising at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Schofield served on the Associate Dean's workplace culture team, leading efforts to improve staff morale and engagement. He also advanced diversity and inclusion initiatives and practices through surveys and one-on-one staff check-ins and delivered 30+ workshops to graduate and business students. Dr. Schofield holds a Bachelor of Arts in Family and Child Studies and a Masters of Arts in Counseling (Student Affairs & Higher Education) from Montclair State University. He also holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Policy, Planning and Leadership, from William and Mary. Read more. 

University of the Arts has successfully appointed Mr. Eric Leal as their new Vice President for Finance and Administration. Mr. Leal has served as the Associate Dean for Budget and Administration in the College of Arts and Sciences at American University since the Spring of 2019. He previously served as the Associate Dean for Administration and Finance for the College of Medicine at Howard University, and as the Assistant Dean of Administration and Finance for the School of Optometry at the University of California, Berkeley. A former active duty Air Force member and Appropriation Manager at The Pentagon, Mr. Leal holds an MBA from the University of Tennessee and a BA in Psychology from the University of Arizona. Read more.

Marist College has successfully appointed Dr. Ron Buckmire as their new Dean of the School of Computer Science and Mathematics. Dr. Buckmire will begin on August 1, 2024. Dr. Buckmire comes to Marist College from Occidental College in Los Angeles, where he served as Professor of Mathematics and had been on the faculty since receiving a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1994. He has served the national mathematics community in a wide array of capacities in multiple organizations, including as a Program Officer in the Division of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation. Dr. Buckmire also holds an M.Sc. and B.Sc. in mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Read more.

Quinnipiac University has successfully appointed Dr. Nadine Barnett Cosby as their new Dean of the School of Communications. Dr. Cosby will begin her new role on June 17th. Dr. Cosby comes to Quinnipiac from Iona University, where she has held a number of roles since 2011, including Founding Director of the Black Studies program, Assistant Provost/Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Faculty Development, and, most recently, Associate Vice Provost.  Dr. Cosby is also Associate Professor of Media & Strategic Communication at Iona. In addition to her academic experience, Dr. Cosby has worked in broadcasting at networks including ABC and Lifetime.  She earned her bachelor’s in mass communications at CUNY Lehman College. She holds master’s degrees in organizational communications from Iona College and in media studies from The New School for Public Engagement. She earned her Ph.D. in communication from Regent University. Read more.