Retirements
Guy Altieri, president of Hagerstown Community College (HCC) in Maryland, has announced his retirement after a more than 45-year career in higher education, effective December 31. Altieri came to HCC in 2002 from Washtenaw Community College in Michigan, where he served as executive vice president since 1999 and, prior to that, as vice president of instruction and student services, starting in 1987.
During his 16 years at HCC, Altieri led the college to experience its strongest enrollment growth in the college’s 70-year history. From 2002 to 2017, enrollment for credit students grew from just over 3,800 to nearly 6,000. In 2010, HCC had the fastest growing enrollment of the 16 community colleges in Maryland. The number of HCC degrees and certificates awarded nearly tripled in his 16 years.
In addition, programs of study grew from 40 to more than 100. A significant growth was in the area of STEMM (science, technology, engineering, math, medical) programs. These included emerging areas, such as biotechnology, alternative energy technology, cybersecurity and advanced manufacturing.
“Faculty, staff, students and the community have greatly benefited from his leadership in providing job training and career preparation opportunities for thousands of local citizens,” HCC board member Greg Snook said of Altieri.
Alamo Colleges Chancellor Bruce Leslie has announced plans to retire on September 30, 2018. Leslie’s career in education has spanned four decades with 34 years as a community college president or chancellor. He began his term at the Texas community college district in 2006.
In the past decade, the budget for the Alamo Colleges increased from about $450 million to almost $899 million in 2016-17. Degrees conferred also jumped dramatically, from 3,700 in 2005-06 to almost 13,000 last year.
In recent years, Leslie has focused on standardizing curriculum and counseling across all five Alamo Colleges to help students transfer to four-year universities as quickly as possible.
“What we must emphasize now is not just whether our students are ready for college but whether we are we ready for our students,” Leslie wrote in an email to the college community.
Previously, Leslie was chancellor of the Houston Community College system and of Connecticut’s community and technical college system. Before that, he was president of Onondaga Community College in New York.
CEO interim
Jane Milley will serve as interim president of West Virginia University at Parkersburg, effective November 16. Milley previously served as interim senior vice president for academic affairs from April 2015 to April 2016. She has more than 40 years of experience in public and private institutions of higher education, serving as a faculty member, division dean, dean of college, provost, vice president and chancellor at institutions across the country.
Appointments
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu has nominated Will Arvelos, president of Great Bay Community College (GBCC), to serve as the state’s director of economic development. If his nomination is approved by the state’s Executive Council, Arvelos will step down as GBCC president, which he has held for 11 years, overseeing a period of significant growth at the school. Arvelos has been noted for locally developing strong business ties to prepare students for available jobs.
“His departure from GBCC is a loss for the college and the system, but we are very glad to have him in a leadership position in the state to continue to work to advance alignment of education and training with the economy and needs of employers,” said Ross Gittell, chancellor of the Community College System of New Hampshire.
