(From top left) Adam Breerwood, Joyce Loveday, Ali Rafieymehr, Charlie White, William Lewis and Mary Spilde
New CEOs
Adam Breerwood will become president of Pearl River Community College (PRCC) in Mississippi on July 1. He is currently vice president for the college’s Poplarville campus and Hancock Center. Breerwood, 42, joined PRCC in 1997 as an assistant baseball coach and previously played baseball at college. In 2002, he began his career in community college administration serving as PRCC’s assistant director of recruitment and orientation before being promoted to director in 2003. A year later, Breerwood was named dean of student services where he served for eight years. In 2011 he was promoted to vice president of the college’s main campus.
Joyce Loveday is now the permanent president of Clover Park Technical College (CPTC) in Washington after serving as interim CEO since June 2016. She has worked at CPTC since 2002 and was previously vice president for student learning. Loveday has served in higher education since 1991, when she joined ITT Technical Institute as a faculty member. She later relocated to Washington to be a dean at ITT Tech before coming to CPTC in 2002 as dean for business and computer technology.
Interim CEOs
Ali Rafieymehr has been named interim president of River Valley Community College (RVCC) in New Hampshire. Since June 2016, he has served as the college’s vice president of academic affairs. Before joining RVCC, Rafieymehr was a workforce development consultant and dean of Dyn University at Dynamic Network Services.
Charlie White is coming out of retirement to serve as interim president of New River Community College (NRCC) in Virginia. He previously was president of Wytheville Community College from 2006 to 2015, when he retired. He was a faculty member and administrator at NRCC from 1971 through 1998.
Retirements
William Lewis, president of Pearl River Community College in Mississippi, will retire June 30. He has served as the college’s leader since 2000. The 70-year-old caps a nearly 50-year career of public service in various Mississippi educational institutions. During Lewis’ tenure as head of Mississippi’s first community college, the school has experienced a significant growth in enrollment, developed a national reputation for excellence in teaching and learning, produced a national football championship and is widely recognized for the high quality of its arts programs. Lewis was also the driving force behind campus reconstruction following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“His thumbprint can be seen throughout this institution through the planning, construction and renovation of old and new buildings on all campuses,” said Alan Lumpkin, the college’s board of trustees chairman and superintendent of Pearl River County Schools.
Kudos
Mary Spilde, president of Lane Community College in Oregon, next month will receive the 2017 Council for Advancement and Support of Education District VIII Leadership Award for outstanding efforts to promote the understanding and support of education. Spilde, who has served as chair of the American Association of Community Colleges board of directors, was instrumental in leading the college through its first, highly successful fundraising campaign, which raised $29 million for capital projects, students and faculty. She joined forces with the city of Eugene to build a new Downtown Campus, improving the college’s accessibility and sparking revitalization in downtown Eugene.
