New CEO
Beatriz Chaidez will lead California’s San José–Evergreen Community College District (SJECCD) as its new chancellor. She has served as its interim chancellor since July 2023.
“We are very fortunate to have a highly skilled and experienced leader such as Dr. Chaidez to lead the district as our next permanent chancellor,” SJECCD Board President Tony Alexander said in a release.
Chaidez previously held multiple roles with SJECCD, including vice chancellor of human resources and associate vice chancellor of human resources. Before joining the district in 2019, Chaidez served in various roles in K-12 administration, including assistant superintendent with the Salinas City Elementary School District, assistant superintendent with the Sacramento City Unified School District and superintendent/principal with Raisin City School District.
SJECCD cited Chaidez’s experience with labor relations and negotiations, employment law, worker’s compensation, California Education Code, and building dual and concurrent enrollment partnerships between colleges and K-12 school districts. She has also served as an executive board member for both the Association of California School Administrators and the California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators.
Interim CEO
William A. Mitchell, vice president for administration and chief financial officer at Massasoit Community College, will serve as interim president of the Massachusetts college following the passing this month of its president, Ray DiPasquale.
Mitchell has more than 35 years of higher education experience and attended Massasoit as a student before his career in minor league baseball, according to a release from the college. From 1985 to 1994, Mitchell held several roles at Massasoit, including in finance, student activities and as adjunct faculty. He then served as associate vice chancellor for financial services at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth from 1994 to 2012. In 2012, he returned to Massasoit as vice president for administration and chief financial officer. He also served as interim president from September 2017 until July 2018.
Obituary
Ray DiPasquale, president of Massasoit Community College in Massachusetts, passed away on April 4 after a battle with cancer. He was 74.
DiPasquale was appointed as Massasoit’s seventh president in August 2021, taking the helm as the college began to recover during the Covid pandemic. Among his focuses was to strengthen relationships at all levels of the institution, including externally with community partners and internally with faculty, staff and students, according to the college. He also worked on the college’s 2024-2029 strategic plan and a $50 million Transformation Through Renovation project that will revamp science and healthcare classrooms and labs.
“Ray was the embodiment of a passionate, caring leader who sought out leadership opportunities not for his own benefit, but for the benefit of others, namely people looking to change their lives through education. I am honored to have had the chance to work with him,” said Tom Carroll, board chairman of Massasoit Community College.
DiPasquale’s reputation was noted through the state and northeast.
“President DiPasquale showcased the value of community college and went to great lengths to ensure that all students had a pathway to their dreams. Among many important contributions, President DiPasquale leaves behind a legacy of deep belief in the potential of every individual student. The impact of his work was and will continue to be felt far beyond the Massasoit community. Massachusetts was lucky to have President DiPasquale,” Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler said in a statement.
Prior to Massasoit, DiPasquale was president of Clinton Community College (New York) from 2017 to 2021, where he helped stabilize the school’s finances and oversaw $28 million in capital projects, including the construction and opening of the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing, a high-tech regional hub for manufacturing education, according to a release. Previously he served for 10 years as president of the Community College of Rhode Island.
Over his career, DiPasquale held several administrative posts at other Massachusetts community colleges, overseeing athletics, student life, public relations and advancement, and admissions and enrollment.
DiPasquale was also noted for volunteering in his communities, serving on the boards of area nonprofits, local and state commissions, and chambers of commerce. While an administrator at Springfield Technical Community College, he served on the Springfield School Committee, City Council and as chair of the Hampden County Commission. He also narrowly lost the Springfield mayoral election in 1991.
Appointments
Kelly Meola has been appointed executive director of institutional advancement at County College of Morris. She has served at the New Jersey college for seven year, mostly recently as its director of institutional grants and government affairs coordinator.
Jeremy Pickard is the new vice chancellor for academic affairs at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges, as of June 1. He most recently served as the college’s dean of agriculture, business and professional services.
Suzanne Wilson Summers will serve as chief academic officer and division of learning vice president at the College of Southern Maryland, effective June 1. The Army veteran previously was the founding assistant vice president for teaching and learning for Indiana’s Ivy Tech Community College system.
