Interim CEO
Chris Cox is now interim president at Northwest-Shoals Community College in Alabama. He previously was special assistant to the chancellor of the Alabama Community College System. Prior to that, Cox was interim president at both Beville State Community College and Lurleen B. Wallace Community College in Alabama. He also has served as executive director of workforce solutions and innovations for the state’s two-year college system and was a principal of a high school and an elementary school in Alabama.
CEO retirements
Kevin Boys, president of Southern State Community College in Ohio, has announced his plans to retire next June. He has led the college since 2010.
Over his career, Boys has served on numerous local, state and national organizations, including the board of directors of the American Association of Community Colleges and co-chair of Ohio’s Higher Education Funding Commission. Currently, he is chair of Community Colleges of Appalachia and serves on the board of the Rural Community College Alliance.
In a letter to the college’s board members, Boys said he planned to retire last year, but Covid prompted him to stay for an additional year beyond his contract.
“I felt it imperative that I stay to see us through the many challenges that this pandemic has brought our way,” he wrote. “It will be time for fresh leadership to take on new challenges as the college recovers from the pandemic and explores new opportunities to further its important mission.”
Prior to Southern State, Boys was superintendent of the Loveland City School District in Ohio. He served for 31 years in K-12 education as a teacher, principal and superintendent in Sycamore and Loveland school districts.
Earlier this year, Boys was honored with the Phi Theta Kappa Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction, a prestigious award for community college presidents. In 2016, the Ohio Educational Service Center Association presented Boys with its Outstanding Leadership Award, which recognizes community leaders whose service has significantly benefited all local school districts in the county.
Frank Friedman, president of Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC), plans to retire in May 2022. He become the college’s fifth president in 1999.
Under Friedman’s leadership, PVCC’s enrollment has increased 25%, the number of graduates jumped from 300 to 1,200 and dual enrollment has grown to more than 1,500 students per semester. His guidance has helped elevate the college’s student services to include expanded financial resources, mentoring services, a food and clothing bank, and innovative funding programs like PVCC4U.100%, which covers the full cost of tuition and fees for the upcoming fall and spring semesters for qualifying students.
Friedman has worked in community colleges since 1977. He was executive vice president of Austin Community College in Texas, and has been a chief academic officer, chief student services officer, director of institutional research and planning and served as a faculty member in psychology and education.
Friedman has also served on national higher education boards, organizations and commissions, including the American Association of Community Colleges, The College Board and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). In 2005, he received the Community Service Award from the Virginia Piedmont Technology Council, and in 2014 was honored with the Phi Theta Kappa Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction. Friedman is the 2018 recipient of the Carol A. Luthman Meritorious Service Award from SACSCOC, which recognizes outstanding service to the accrediting agency, including volunteerism, leadership and commitment to the principles of accreditation.
Greg Gillespie will retire as chancellor of the Ventura County Community College District at the end of the academic year next June.
During his tenure as chancellor, Gillespie led initiatives promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) to support the various needs of students, employees and the greater community. This includes building a culture that encourages equity and social justice.
“Chancellor Gillespie has guided us through the pandemic with a focus on the needs of our students, faculty, classified staff and three colleges,” Board Chair Joshua Chancer said in a statement. “With Dr. Gillespie’s leadership, we have seen a greater emphasis on certificate and degree completion, allowing students to achieve their full potential in the classroom and progress into careers and further education.”
Gillespie first joined the district in 2013 as Ventura College president after serving as a vice president for Yavapai College in Arizona. He has nearly 30 years of experience in the community college system and has served in faculty, director, dean, vice president and president positions at four different community colleges in Arizona, California and Washington.
Dale K. Nesbary has announced that he will retire in June 2022 as Muskegon Community College‘s (MCC) 10th president, concluding 44 years in higher education, research and leadership. He began his career at the Michigan college in 2009, making him the second longest-serving president in the college’s 95-year history.
Under Nesbary’s leadership, MCC completed $55 million in infrastructure upgrades and secured more than $20 million in grants and private gifts, including the largest private gift in the college’s history ($1.5 million). According to Board Chair Diana Osborn, Nesbary has been instrumental in leading efforts to transform and strengthen the college.
“Dr. Nesbary’s collaborative skills, intelligence, relationship building, and drive have brought us to where we are today. He leaves a legacy that will deliver long-lasting benefits to our students and staff for many years to come,” she said.
Nesbary has served on numerous national, state and local boards, including the Center for Community College Engagement, the American Council on Education Fellows Board and the Michigan Community College Association Board as chair.
Nesbary has received numerous honors, including being selected as an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow, 2018 Newsmaker of the Year-Education Division by the Grand Rapids Business Journal and a Rotary Club Paul Harris Fellow in 2021.
Prior to MCC, Nesbary was a professor of political science and vice president and dean for academic affairs at Adrian College in Michigan. Prior to that, Nesbary was director of the Master of Public Administration Program at Oakland University.
Appointments
Jeff Goldberg is the new chief financial officer at the Westchester Community College Foundation in New York. Previously, Goldberg worked at Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, where he provided financial administration of a substantial scholarship program.
Wesley Hardin is now chief of police at Tallahassee Community College in Florida. He has spent the past 13 years as the officer-in-charge at Gwinnett County Schools in Georgia.
Loy Nashua is the new vice president of human resources at Long Beach City College in California. He recently served as executive dean of student affairs and student financial services, chief negotiator and human resources point person for the Rio Hondo Community College District.
At Ventura College in California, Jesús Vega is now dean of student services and Leticia Canales has joined the college as another dean of student services in the Division of Student Affairs. Vega previously was assistant dean for Ventura College’s East Campus since 2019. Canales comes from Madera Community College in California, where she was dean of student services for the past five years.
