Newsmakers

New CEO

Roger Ramsammy has been named the seventh president of Hudson Valley Community College in New York. Ramsammy has more than 30 years of higher education experience, including academic and administrative leadership positions at three of the largest multi-campus colleges in the U.S. He is the former president of the West Campus of Miami Dade College (Florida) and previously was provost and chief academic officer at Northern Virginia Community College. Prior to that, at Palm Beach State College, Ramsammy was a professor of microbiology and anatomy and physiology, chair of biology, associate dean of STEM and dean of academic affairs. Ramsammy has earned numerous awards for leadership, effective and inventive teaching, online instruction and academic program development, including the Virginia Governor’s Award for the most innovative STEM program, and the Florida Association of Community Colleges and Palm Beach State College’s Professor of the Year awards.

Retirement

Ronnie Nettles, president of Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi, plans to retire in June. He has served as CEO of the college for a decade. During his tenure, the college has seen growth in enrollment to an all-time high, it foundation’s endowment has doubled to more than $8 million, and new instructional programs and services have increased student graduation rates. Nettles served as director of the community and economic development on the Wesson Campus from 1994 to 1997. In 1997, he was named dean of the Natchez campus. He moved back to the Wesson campus as executive vice president from 2004 to 2008.

Nettles commended his strong administrative team for that success of the college. “They have worked tirelessly with our employees to help our college achieve national rankings in student completion rates, minority graduation rates and veteran’s services,” he told the Daily Leader newspaper.

Appointments

San Jacinto College Chancellor Brenda Hellyer has been appointed to the Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) Advisory Council. The council, comprising statewide education and industry leaders, will “work to expand partnerships between school districts, higher education institutions and business employers,” according to a statement from the Texas lieutenant governor’s office. The council will provide recommendations to the commissioner of education regarding the establishment and administration of the P-TECH program and the criteria for a campus’ designation as a P-TECH school.

Stelfanie Williams, president of Vance-Granville Community College in North Carolina, has been appointed to serve on the My Future NC Commission, a new statewide group focused on educational attainment. The commission will study and discuss state education and training needs, identify obstacles to meeting those needs, and generate policy recommendations. “I bring to this task my experience from VGCC, which reflects the entire education pipeline, with our two five-star child care centers as well as our partnerships with K-12 school systems, with the business community and with universities,” Williams said.

Shannon Cunningham will serve as executive vice president for academic affairs and student success at Richland College in Texas, effective January 2. Cunningham currently is vice president at Northern Oklahoma College’s Stillwater Campus, where she helped ensure the success of the Northern Oklahoma College/Oklahoma State University Gateway Program, a partnership designed to recruit and prepare students for enrollment at Oklahoma State University.

Deidra Dennie is the new chief diversity officer at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland. She previously was director of equity, diversity and inclusion at Armstrong State University in Georgia.

Nick Graff, executive director of the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Centers for the Dallas County Community College District, has been elected president of the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers (NCATC). His term begins January 1. NCATC, a council affiliated with the American Association of Community Colleges, is a network of higher education resources which advocates and promotes the use of technology applications that enhance economic and workforce development programs and services.

James Lemons is now associate vice president of workforce, business and allied health at Central Virginia Community College. He previously was dean of the business and allied health at the college. Prior to that, Lemons was the college’s workforce development coordinator.

Troy Richards has been appointed dean of art and design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. He most recently was interim associate dean for the arts at the University of Delaware, where he has served since 2008 as an associate professor, head of printmaking, undergraduate area coordinator, graduate program director and chair of the department of art and design.

At the Southeast Maritime and Transportation (SMART) Center housed at Tidewater Community College in Virginia, Thomas Stout is the center’s new principal investigator and Jennifer Palestrant is the center’s new director. The SMART Center is one of 42 national ATE (Advanced Technological Education) programs in the U.S. and the only regional ATE Center focused on developing effective career pathways and programs in the maritime and transportation industries.

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