Hired
The University of Michigan has found its president-designate, Cybele Raver, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Vanderbilt University.
Raver, who begins on Dec. 1, oversaw a period of rapid academic and research expansion at Vanderbilt. Since 2021, she has helped launch the College of Connected Computing, the institution’s first new college in 40 years, recruited seven deans and led Discovery Vanderbilt, a university-wide research initiative.
She also helped guide the university past $1 billion in annual research expenditures while supporting major investments in campus infrastructure, online education and national expansion efforts.
Michigan’s flagship has been searching for a president for more than a year. Kent Syverud, former chancellor of Syracuse University, was selected in January but stepped down before beginning, following a cancer diagnosis.
Lenny Klaver – Missouri Western State University
Missouri Western State University has selected Lenny Klaver as its seventh president, placing a seasoned community college executive at the helm of a regional public university.
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Since 2016, Klaver has led North Central Missouri College, where he oversaw three strategic plans, expanded academic and athletic offerings, opened a satellite campus and launched a new student center. Enrollment climbed 24% over the last five years, and the college graduated its four largest classes on record during Klaver’s tenure.
Retired
Jane Fernandes – Antioch College (Ohio)
Jane Fernandes is retiring as president of Antioch College in early September after five years leading the liberal arts school, The Yellow Springs News reports.
Fernandes is the third president of Antioch since it reopened in 2011 after budgetary issues forced the college to close in 2008. Her exit marks another leadership transition for a college that has spent the past decade working to strengthen enrollment, finances and long-term viability.
Last November, Antioch’s accreditor assigned Antioch a “financial distress designation,” according to The News. “It’s information that we have some financial work to do—that our financials are not just flowing, and now we have to make them work,” Fernandes said.
Johnette McKown – McLennan Community College (Texas)
Johnette McKown has announced plans to retire as president of McLennan Community College on May 31, concluding a 37-year career at the Texas institution and more than five decades in higher education. She has served as president since 2009 and is only the third president in the college’s history.
McKown helped establish an honors college, provide dual-credit pathways with four-year institutions and expand student support resources, including coaching and emergency financial support. The community college also advanced major construction projects and facility upgrades under her leadership.
Lonnie Roberts – Coastal Pines Technical College (Georgia)
Lonnie Roberts is retiring from Coastal Pines Technical College on Sept. 30. He has served as president for the past five years, totaling 25 years at the college and its previous iterations.
Since 2021, Roberts has overseen a nearly 16% increase in enrollment at Coastal Pines and expanded workforce-focused facilities and programs across multiple campuses.
He first joined Altamaha Technical College in 2001 and eventually served as its acting president through its merger with Okefenokee Technical College to become Coastal Pines Technical College in 2014.
Henry D. Shannon – Chaffey College (California)
After nearly two decades leading Chaffey College, Superintendent and President Henry Shannon announced his retirement beginning Sept. 24.
Shannon arrived at Chaffey in 2007 and helped guide the institution to record enrollment levels, while spearheading campus expansion projects.
One of his most significant achievements came in 2018, when he secured a $700 million bond initiative that funded major campus improvements and expansion projects, Fontana Herald News reports. His leadership also attracted a $25 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in 2021, advancing the college’s commitment to student success and equity.
Stepping Down
Torey Alston – Broward College (Florida)
Torey Alston is leaving Broward College after just 18 months as president following a separation agreement approved by the college’s board of trustees, Florida Politics reports. The agreement ends a brief and turbulent tenure that began in early 2025 and concludes well before the expiration of his four-year contract.
Alston’s departure followed months of tensions between the president and trustees. Board members publicly raised concerns over his communication, the college’s poor nursing licensure passing rates and development issues with a new campus branch.
The board moved to fire Alston without cause, causing him to sue the board and launch an HR complaint. The two parties eventually reached a separation agreement worth $430,000, Westside Gazette reports.
Alston left the role defending his leadership, declaring that enrollment increased by nearly 5% and that the board routinely muddled in the college’s routine operations.
