CEO on the move
Lee Lambert will serve as chancellor of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District (California), beginning August 1. He is currently chancellor of Arizona’s Pima Community College (PCC), a position he has held since 2013.
Lambert has been recognized for taking the helm of PCC when it was placed on academic probation by its accreditor and leading it back to good standing and financial stability. He also led the development of the college’s Centers of Excellence in applied technology, healthcare, hospitality, information technology & cybersecurity, public safety and the arts.
Under Lambert’s leadership, PCC has been named a top 50 community college for Hispanic enrollment and number one in Arizona, according to a release from the college. PCC earned a prestigious Bellwether Award for developmental education programs and was selected for recognition by Harvard University for innovative workforce training programs and partnerships with Tucson’s largest employers, including Raytheon, IBM, Caterpillar, TuSimple and area hospitals. The college also rebuilt its aging physical and IT infrastructure and opened new facilities, including a new automotive technology and innovation center, an expanded aviation center and the recently opened $35 million advanced manufacturing building.
“Lee Lambert is a transformative leader with an impressive record of accomplishments,” said Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees President Patrick Ahrens. “We are confident that he is the right person to build on Foothill-De Anza’s legacy of educational excellence and excited to have him lead our exceptional team into a new era of equity and innovation.”
Prior to Pima, Lambert served nearly eight years as president of Shoreline Community College in Washington.
Obituary
Conway A. Jeffress, who served as president of Schoolcraft Community College in Michigan for 19 years before retiring in 2020, passed away on February 13. He was 79.
Under Jeffress’ leadership, the college expanded its campus and programs by constructing its library, biomedical technology building, health sciences facility, indoor soccer fields and the VisTaTech Center. It also secured its first bachelor of science degree program and expanded its culinary arts program and business development center.
Jeffress joined Schoolcraft College in 1982 as vice president of instruction and in 2001 became its fourth president.
“The biggest thing I remember about Conway is not about the projects, not about the buildings, not about the curriculum,” said Glenn Cerny, Schoolcraft president who served as vice president/CFO under Jeffress. “It’s about all the stories about the family and that he always had time…and he would listen and he was a good listener.”
Appointments
Lisa Avery, president of Linn-Benton Community College, has been elected to the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) board of commissioners as Oregon’s community college representative. NWCCU is recognized by the U.S. Education Department and the Council on Higher Education to accredit postsecondary institutions in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and British Columbia, along with other domestic and international geographic areas.
“Higher education accreditation is changing, and I am pleased to be a part of this student success and equity effort on behalf of institutions in the Northwest,” Avery said in a statement.
Mehmet Argin is now dean of the Engineering Center of Excellence at Houston Community College. He joined the college in 2017 and most recently served as dean of its Global Energy Center of Excellence, located at HCC Northeast College.
Ellen Flowers-Fields will become vice president of continuing education and workforce development at the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) as of July 1. Flowers-Fields has more than 30 years of experience in the field of workforce development and human capital management, the last nine of which have been with CSM.
Jay Freeman will serve as chief of police at Gadsden State Community College (Alabama), which is creating a new police department to serve all five of its campuses. He comes from the Southside Police Department, where he served as captain of investigations.
Eric Gordon will join Ohio’s Cuyahoga Community College as senior vice president of student development and education pipeline on July 31. He is currently CEO of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
Nan Ho has been promoted to vice president of academic services at Las Positas College in California. He previously was the college’s dean of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
At Portland Community College in Oregon, Steven Nakana will serve as vice president of people strategy, equity and culture; Kurt Simonds is now the college’s first vice president for strategy, policy and integrated planning; and Howard Croom III will be the college’s first associate vice president of people strategy, equity and culture.
Nakana, who will begin in his new position on June 5, is currently PGE’s community outreach manager. Simonds has served at PCC since 2005 in a variety of roles, most recently as dean of instruction at its Cascade campus and interim executive dean of college operations. Croom will join on June 13. He is currently Oregon State University’s associate athletic director, chief diversity officer and director of student services in the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
