Newsmakers

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New CEOs

Kevin Beardmore will serve as the next president of Southeast New Mexico College. He is currently vice president of student affairs at Owensboro Community and Technical College (OCTC) in Kentucky, a position he has held for 15 years.

Beardmore has served at OCTC for more than 22 years, holding positions such as dean of institutional effectiveness and director of academic affairs, dean of enrollment management and director of research and planning. When he started at the college in 1999, it was in transition from a community college of the University of Kentucky to becoming part of a statewide system of independently accredited community and technical colleges, according to a release. Working with the president, he helped navigate the process that established the new college in 2003.

Prior to OCTC, Beardmore worked in private industry at a startup internet provider, taught middle school mathematics and science, and coordinated science curriculum efforts at the Indiana Department of Education.

Beardmore received the Distinguished College Administrator Award from the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society in 2015, one of 23 college administrators honored nationally.

Eric Heiser will be the sixth president of Coconino Community College in Arizona, as of January 1. He currently is provost of Central Ohio Technical College (COTC). He serves as the chief academic, student support and workforce officer for the college.

Heiser has worked in higher education for nearly two decades, starting as a full-time faculty member and progressing to senior leadership. At Central Wyoming College (CWC), he taught for six years in the areas of business, management and criminal justice. He also served as a director and workforce training coordinator at CWC. Heiser then spent six years at Salt Lake Community College as an associate dean and then dean and built one of the nation’s largest competency-based education (CBE) programs, according to the college. He was appointed as a content expert to the U.S. Education Department’s What Works Clearinghouse to help identify best practices in career and technical education and guided pathways.

Heiser also serves as board chair of the Competency-Based Education Network. In addition to his work in CBE, Heiser is board president of the National Council of Instructional Administrators, an affiliate council of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). In 2020, he was appointed for a three-year term on AACC’s Commission on Workforce and Economic Development.

Ritu Raju will serve as the next president of Wisconsin’s Gateway Technical College, effective January 15. Raju has more than 18 years of higher education experience, most recently serving as vice president for academic affairs at Tarrant County College’s Northeast Campus (Texas), a position she’s held since 2020. She leads the college’s Texas Reskilling and Upskilling through Education Initiative to build stackable, in-demand credentials to meet industry needs and to bridge the equity gap for students.

Prior to Tarrant County, Raju was dean for advanced manufacturing at Houston Community College. Under her leadership, the college’s Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence was designated a Registered Apprenticeship Center by the U.S. Department of Labor, allowing the community college to offer apprenticeships directly to area industries.

Kudos

Bryan Albrecht, who recently retired after serving for 16 years as president of Gateway Technical College (Wisconsin), has received the University of Wisconsin-Stout’s highest honor bestowed on a former graduate — the Distinguished Alumni Award. Albrecht has three degrees from the university: a bachelor’s degree in industrial education, a master’s degree in technology education and an education specialist credential.

Appointments

Christian (Chris) Bednar is now dean of liberal studies at North Shore Community College (Massachusetts). She previously was interim dean and assistant dean at the college.

Matthew Dennison is the new director of the Waubonsee Community College Foundation in Illinois. He previously was market president for Midland States Bank.

Kevin Lovaincy is the first executive director of diversity, equity and inclusion at Quinsigamond Community College in Massachusetts. He previously worked at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health as acting director of diversity, equity and inclusion, a promotion from his starting position as assistant director of diversity and inclusion for public health hospitals.

Karen Tyree will serve as director of dental science at Gadsden State Community College, a new program at the Alabama college’s Valley Street Campus. She has 28 years of experience in dental assisting and dental hygiene.

About the Author

Matthew Dembicki
Matthew Dembicki edits Community College Daily and serves as associate vice president of communications for the American Association of Community Colleges.
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