Hired
Keith Harris – Freed-Hardeman University (Tenn.)
Keith Harris, a preaching minister in Texas, has been selected as the next president of Freed-Hardeman University, according to a press release.
Harris earned his doctorate in ministry from Freed-Hardeman in 2021. He has served in leadership roles at various churches for the last two decades.
Lisa Lambert – Chatham University (Penn.)
Chatham University is elevating its interim leader, Lisa Lambert, to a permanent role as president of the private Pittsburgh-based institution.
Lambert has been a member of the Chatham community since 1985, having served as provost, vice president of academic affairs and various other administrative leadership roles.
“As President, I look forward to collaborating closely with our students, faculty, staff and alumni as we focus on the university’s mission and Chatham’s continued engagement in Pittsburgh and the western Pennsylvania region,” Lambert said in a statement.
Brad L. Mortensen – Utah State University
Brad Mortensen is set to become the president of Utah State University on Nov. 10, according to the school.
Since 2019, Mortensen has served as the president of Utah-based Weber State University, where he has secured nearly $400 million to enhance academic, athletic and research facilities. He also helped pioneer the first accelerated, 90- to 94-credit bachelor’s degrees in the Utah System of Higher Education.
New leaders at the Louisiana State University System
The Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors has named Wade Rousse as president of the state higher education system and James Dalton as chancellor of the flagship Baton Rouge campus, according to an announcement.
The move marks a return to a bifurcated organizational structure, reversing the board’s 2012 decision to merge the positions.
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Rousse is currently the president of Louisiana-based McNeese State University. Under his leadership, enrollment rose for the first time in 14 years, and the university reached full housing occupancy for the first time in two decades.
As executive vice president and vice president of advancement, Rousse helped raise more than $40 million.
Dalton currently serves as the executive vice president and provost at the University of Alabama, where he implemented a new general education core and helped achieve a 60% increase in sponsored research awards.
Retiring
Dawn Lindsay – Anne Arundel Community College (Md.)
Anne Arundel Community College President Dawn Lindsay plans to retire next June, capping off a 13-year tenure.
Under Lindsay’s leadership, the community college was named as one of the top in the nation and opened new programs in health and life science and the skilled trades. She also helped strengthen the college’s transfer agreements.
Katherine Fell – University of Findlay (Ohio)
Katherine Fell is concluding her 16 years of service at the University of Findlay at the end of the academic year.
Under Fell’s leadership, the university expanded academic programs at the master’s and doctoral levels, honed in on experiential learning opportunities for students and enhanced campus facilities, WFIN reports.
Marylou Yam – Notre Dame of Maryland University
Notre Dame of Maryland University will be searching for a new leader for the first time in 12 years, following Marylou Yam’s decision to retire at the end of June, the university announced.
Enrollment at Notre Dame has increased by 38% since 2022, and Yam has raised nearly $53 million in the school’s largest fundraising campaign. Its endowment has also increased by 40%.
“President Yam has worked 24/7 to put NDMU on a path of success—whether it be in increasing the endowment, creating new programs and schools, creating a new energy and growth in the school through taking the university all-gender, raising our visibility in the city and state and increasing our rankings in so many categories,” said Cathryn Curia ’69, chair of the school’s Board of Trustees.
Stepping down
Todd Pfannestiel – Utica University (N.Y.)
Todd Pfannestiel is stepping down as president of Utica University at the end of the year, the school announced. Provost Stephanie Nesbitt agreed to take over as interim president until July 31, 2028.
Pfannestiel began his tenure in 2023 and was tasked with the difficult job of shaping major academic and operational restructuring. In September, Utica announced that 31 full-time faculty roles would be eliminated by May 2026 due to financial difficulties, Mass Live reports.
Fletcher Lamkin – Clarke University (Iowa)
Effective immediately, the Board of Trustees of Clarke University has accepted the resignation of Fletcher Lamkin, the school announced.
Lamkin became the permanent president of Clarke in July 2024 after serving as interim leader for a year and a half.
Few details explain Lamkin’s departure as the board has cited “personnel confidentiality,” Dubuque In Pursuit News reports.
Yvonne Zimmerman, vice president for academic affairs, has been named the acting president until the board determines its next steps.
