Newsmakers

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Acting CEO

Larry Ferguson, president of Ashland Community and Technical College, will serve as acting president of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, which includes 16 colleges across the commonwealth. He will serve in the assignment for 60 days. Paul Czarapata vacated the role on February 2.

Kudos

Mordecai Brownlee, president of Colorado’s Community College of Aurora, has made the Denver Business Journal’s 2023 40 Under 40 awards program.

“Young talent brings something special to any company’s roster. Innovative ideas. New perspectives. A willingness to take risks, break things and put them back together better than before,” the publication said in a release of the honorees.

Keith Curry, president of Compton College in California, and Mautra Staley Jones, president of Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC), are among Forbes’ 10 Top Black Higher Ed CEOs to Watch in 2023. The annual list recognizes outstanding leaders in higher education who are making a significant impact in their respective institutions and communities.

“This isn’t a ranking. There are other outstanding higher ed CEOs who are Black, but these 10 are indisputably among our nation’s best,” the publication said.

Forbes recognized Curry’s efforts in addressing equity, student homelessness and food insecurity. Among Jones’ efforts during her first year at the helm of the college in 2022, OCCC used its federal Covid relief funds to forgive nearly $4 million in debt for more than 4,500 students.

Paula Pando, president of Reynolds Community College in Virginia, is a recipient of YWCA Richmond’s annual Outstanding Women Award in the category of education. The honor celebrates local women leading the region and inspiring future leaders. Pando has led Reynolds to provide pathways for students to realize upward economic and social mobility through education that prepares them for high-demand jobs that pay a living wage, YMCA noted in its profile of Pando.

CEO planning to retire

Timothy Alvarez, the fifth president of Otero College, has announced plans to retire on August 11. He has served as the college’s CEO for five years.

Upon his arrival in 2018 at the federally designated Hispanic-serving institution in rural Colorado, Alvarez prioritized closing equity gaps among the college’s 1,500 students, 66% of whom are first-generation. That included redesigning classrooms, curriculum and teaching practices to make learning more inviting and inclusive, a release from the college noted. He also helped expand eligibility for institutional financial aid and founded new scholarships for both students and staff.

Alvarez also focused on improving wraparound services for students and completion rates. As part of his strategy, Otero secured a $2.9 million U.S. Education Department grant to expand mentoring, advising, case management and professional development for students, especially those of low-income and Hispanic backgrounds. He also hired Otero’s first on-campus mental health counselor who provides one-on-one and group services for students.

“From the moment we hired him, President Alvarez demonstrated an unwavering commitment to community engagement and student success,” Joe Garcia, chancellor of the Colorado Community College System, said in a release. “Over his tenure, he not only launched new and innovative programs but also led an impressive strategic planning process that will leave Otero College in a better position than he found it. As a first-generation, non-traditional student himself, Dr. Alvarez has been a tremendous champion of our open-access mission. His positive leadership will be greatly missed.”

Prior to Otero, Alvarez was a senior fellow at NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, and vice president for student affairs at North Dakota State University. Over his 33 years in higher education, e served for 15 years in various leadership and teaching roles at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Appointments

Scott McMurray has been named deputy commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia‘s Georgia Quick Start program. He has served as its interim deputy commissioner since August 2022. He joined the program in 2021 as assistant commissioner.

Ann Proudfit has been named vice president for student services at Guilford Technical Community College in North Carolina. She previously was project director for academic strategies at Guilford College, a private school in North Carolina.

Kay Thigpen will serve as program administrator for dental hygiene at Savannah Technical College in Georgia. She has worked as a dental hygiene instructor at the college since 2016.

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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