New CEOs
Brian Caputo will serve as the seventh president of the College of DuPage (COD) in Illinois. He has served as interim president at the college since January, and previously was COD’s vice president for administration affairs and chief financial officer. Before joining the college in 2017, Caputo was chief financial officer/city treasurer for the city of Aurora for nearly 19 years. Among his accomplishments at COD is his involvement in the college’s guided pathways initiative and Project Hire-Ed, a workforce development program designed to better align postsecondary education with specific workforce skill requirements through partnerships with area employers. He also was a member of the executive team that worked to establish Innovation DuPage, a cooperative venture that promotes business growth and job creation by connecting small businesses with resources.
Interim CEOs
Deidra Peaslee has been named interim president of Saint Paul College (Minnesota) for a one-year term starting July 1. She has served Anoka-Ramsey Community College as vice president of academic and student affairs since 2011, and previously was dean of educational services from 2002 to 2011. She also served DePaul University as assistant dean and director of the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business from 1999 to 2002.
Michael Raich has been named interim president of the Northeast Higher Education District, a consortium of five community colleges of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities that includes Hibbing Community College, Rainy River Community College and Vermilion Community College. The appointment is effective July 1 and is for a two-year term. Raich has served Hibbing Community College as provost since 2015, and previously as dean of academic affairs and student services from 2006 to 2014.
Travis Twiford will serve as interim president of North Carolina’s College of The Albemarle, effective July 1. A retired school administrator, Twiford was superintendent of the Camden County, Rocky Mount and Elizabeth City-Pasquotank school systems.
Jeffery Williamson will serve a one-year term as interim president of North Hennepin Community College, starting August 5. He has served Minnesota West Community and Technical College since 1993. He is currently provost/chief academic and student affairs officer, a post he’s held since 2010. Previously, Williamson was vice president of instruction and CEO/dean of liberal arts and sciences, and he also was lead instructor of agriculture education.
Appointments
Suzanne Buglione has been appointed vice president for academic affairs at Bristol Community College (Massachusetts). Prior to serving in her most recent role as interim vice president for academic affairs, she held the position of the president’s chief of staff.
Michael Schoop will serve as vice president of evidence, inquiry and retention at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) in Ohio, effective July 1. He has led Tri-C’s Metropolitan Campus since 2006.
Theresa Fleischer Rowland is now vice chancellor of educational services and student success at California’s Chabot-Las Positas Community College District. She previously was associate vice chancellor of instruction at City College of San Francisco, and also spent six years with the Foundation for California Community Colleges/Career Ladders Project as senior director. Over her career, Rowland has held the counseling and director positions at several California community colleges.
At Hinds Community College in Mississippi, Keri Cole is the new vice president of the college’s Raymond Campus and its Jackson Campus-Nursing/Allied Health Center, and Sherry Franklin is the new vice president for the Utica Campus. Cole is a 1998 Hinds alumna and has worked at the college since 2005, most recently as district dean of instructional technology and e-learning. Brandon has been with the college since 2004 and most recently was associate vice president of career and technical education and district director of career and technical education.
