Hired
Dr. Jennifer Berne – Madison College (Wisc.)
Madison College has found its next president, Jennifer Berne, who begins on July 1. Berne currently serves as the provost and chief academic officer of Oakland Community College in Michigan, where she is credited with expanding dual enrollment and workforce partnerships for its 23,000 students over the past four years.
Jim Hess – Oklahoma State University
The Oklahoma State University A&M Board of Regents has voted to elevate Jim Hess to a permanent role as president of the institution. He has served in the interim since February.
“While we could have spent an entire year searching for a new president, seeing Jim’s work up close over the past months has provided a level of insight and confidence that no interviews with outside candidates would have yielded,” Rice Walker, vice chair of the board, said in a statement.
Hess has worked in higher education leadership across Oklahoma for over four decades at Rogers State College, OSU-Tulsa, and the OSU Center for Health Sciences.
Russ Kavalhuna – Western Michigan University
Russ Kavalhuna has found his way back to Western Michigan University, his alma mater, but this time as its president.
“Coming back to WMU is a pinch me moment of coming home,” Kavalhuna said in a news release.
Kavalhuna has served as the president of Henry Ford College since 2018, where he’s credited with boosting enrollment, retention and graduation rates, according to a university statement.
Dr. Don Raleigh – Rogers State University (Okla.)
The Oklahoma Board of Trustees has chosen Don Raleigh as the third president of Rogers State University. Raleigh will be the third president of the Claremore-based public university, and he will be leaving his current post as the dean of the School of Education at Liberty University, which is based in Virginia.
Before his four-year tenure at Liberty, Raleigh served 13 years as the superintendent of Pryor Public Schools in Oklahoma, according to a statement from Rogers State.
Raleigh starts on June 1.
Willie Todd, Jr. – Talladega College (Ala.)
Willie Todd, Jr., will be leaving the top executive role at Denmark Technical College in South Carolina to begin his tenure at Talladega College, effective July 1.
Todd is credited with leading an impressive turnaround of Denmark Technical College. In his five years as president, school fundraising, graduation and placement rates have all increased, and more than half of Delta’s deferred maintenance backlog has been completed, AL.com reports.
Marty Pollio – Ivy Tech Community College (Ind.)
Ivy Tech Community College has hired a longtime leader in the K12 space to lead its 175,000-student body. Marty Pollio will begin his foray in postsecondary administration following his seven years as superintendent of Kentucky’s largest school district and 30 total years in the system.
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“I’ve done a lot of work on workforce development—between being a principal and doing this—so I think it’s a good next step for me,” Pollio told the Courier Journal.
The superintendent, who begins at Ivy Tech in July, will focus on expanding dual enrollment opportunities to align the state with workforce opportunities, IndyStar reports.
John C. Volin – Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.)
Gustavus Adolphus College has found its next president, John Volin, the current provost at the University of Maine since 2020.
Prior to Maine, Volin served as vice provost of academic affairs at the University of Connecticut.
Volin, who beat out 60 other applicants for the position, begins on August 15.
Retiring
Bob Glenn – University of Houston-Victoria (Texas)
Bob Glenn announced he will retire from the University of Houston-Victoria this August. In his seven years as president, Glenn oversaw the construction and opening of several campuses and living facilities and secured accreditation for programs in computer science, nursing and school psychology, Crossroads Today reports.
Kumara Jayasuriya – Southwest Minnesota State University
Kumara Jayasuriya will retire from Southwest Minnesota State University following the May commencement ceremony, concluding a six-year tenure.
In his letter to the university community, Jayasuriya reflected on the school’s 20% enrollment bump since he took the helm and securing the highest enrollment in 14 years last fall.
“Additionally, we have successfully raised nearly $24 million toward our $30 million campaign—an important milestone that will significantly enhance resources and opportunities for our university,” he wrote.
Stepping down
Terrence Cheng – Connecticut State Colleges and Universities
Terrence Cheng is out as chancellor of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities following a pair of daming investigations that found over-expenditure on food, alcohol and travel by Cheng and presidents across the university system.
Governor Ned Lamont, who appoints nine of the 15 members of the Connecticut Board of Regents, stated that the board’s decision to seek a new chancellor was influenced by a state comptroller’s investigation revealing Cheng’s excessive spending.
Cheng will transition to a new role as a strategic advisor to the Connecticut Board of Regents beginning July 1.
Bashar Hanna – Commonwealth University (Penn.)
Bashar Hanna is stepping down from the recently formed Commonwealth University on July 31.
Hanna became the first president of Commonwealth in 2022 following a merger between Lock Haven University, Mansfield University and Bloomsburg University, the latter of which he had led since 2017. He is credited with helping coordinate Commonwealth’s first fundraising campaign, beginning in September.
Hanna received a vote of no confidence in February after a federal jury found that the president, Bloomsburg, and the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education were guilty of retaliating against and firing a former dean for helping an administrative assistant file a sexual harassment report against Hanna in 2017.
His next role is vice chancellor for strategic initiatives for Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education.
Robert E. Johnson – Western New England University (Mass.)
Western New England President Robert Johnson will step down in August, concluding a five-year tenure. No reason was stated for his departure in the school press release.
In his five years as president, Johnson spearheaded the first major revision to Western New England’s general education curriculum in over 25 years and helped launch two centers focusing on financial technology and advanced manufacturing. He also contributed to rising enrollment and job placement rates for the private Springfield university.
Santa Ono – University of Michigan
Santa Ono, president of the University of Michigan, informed the institution’s board of regents that he was stepping down. The move comes on the heels of a recent announcement by the University of Florida naming Ono as the sole finalist for the top job.
In Ono’s three years at Michigan, he is credited with breaking ground on a campus in Detroit, expanding a free tuition program aimed at students whose family income is below $125,000 and unveiling a 25-year strategic plan. He also took criticism for closing the Ann Arbor campus’ DEI Office and for cracking down on pro-Palestine protesters, mLive reports.
Ono visits the Gainesville, Fla., campus on Tuesday for a series of public forums with students, faculty, and administrators.
William Underwood – Mercer University (Ga.)
Longtime president William Underwood is stepping down as president of Mercer University and will become a full-time law school teacher.
Underwood, who has headed Mercer since 2006, contributed to a 30% enrollment jump throughout his tenure and has led multiple boards to revitalize the city of Macon’s downtown, 13 WMAZ reports. He will remain president until a successor is appointed.
