Interim CEO
Veronica Hipolito has been named Scottsdale Community College’s interim president. She previously was Chandler-Gilbert Community College’s vice president of student affairs. Both colleges are in the Maricopa County Community College District in Arizona. Hipolito also has worked at Coconino Community College (CCC), where she was on the leadership team that created the CCC2NAU program, a nationally recognized partnership with Northern Arizona University. The program received the 2012 Lee Noel-Randi Levitz Retention Excellence Award and the 2012 Outstanding Institutional Advising Program Award from the National Academic Advising Association.
Kudos
Joe Gilgour, president of Mineral Area College in Missouri, has received the Citizen of the Year Award from the Daily Journal. The honor recognizes a special person, business or organization that has made and is continuing to make a positive difference in the community, according to the newspaper.
Farmington Press Editor and Daily Journal Writer Kevin Jenkins noted that Gilgour has only been part of the community for less than three years, “But in that time, he has already made a significant and positive impact on many people in this region.”
Russell Lowery-Hart, president of Amarillo College in Texas, has been named the 2021 Man of the Year by the Amarillo Globe-News. The newspaper, which awards its Man and Woman of the Year recognition to exceptional community leaders, noted Lowery-Hart’s commitment to his community can be seen in his initiatives which create a culture of caring that removes barriers hindering a student’s success.
“Lowery-Hart’s commitment to each individual’s future has helped rejuvenate the community’s economy and has led Amarillo College to a year of many distinctions,” it said.
Laura Leatherwood, president of Blue Ridge Community College, has received the 2022 President of the Year Award from the North Carolina Community Colleges (NCCC) System. Since becoming the college’s president in 2017, Leatherwood has created a collaborative workforce development relationship with community and economic partners, according to NCCC. Her accomplishments include partnering to recruit seven companies to Henderson County, spearheading campus construction projects and adding nine new healthcare offerings while launching three associate degree pathways in human services. Leatherwood recently partnered with the John M. Belk Endowment to launch a new initiative on adult learners, which resulted in significant enrollment increases this past semester.
CEO retirements
Bryan Albrecht, president of Gateway Technical College, has announced his plans to retire this fall. He has served as CEO of the Wisconsin college since 2006.
Under Albrecht’s leadership, Gateway Tech has grown its national standing as an innovative college for student success, learning strategies and workforce development. He has spearheaded the college’s fundraising efforts and nurtured its long-standing relationship with SC Johnson. Last year, the company announced a $5.5 million donation to Gateway Tech to create a STEM pathway program for women and people of color who have historically been underrepresented in STEM industries. SC Johnson is headquartered in Racine, Wisconsin, where Gateway Tech has one of its nine campuses and centers. One of its centers is named the SC Johnson Integrated Manufacturing and Engineering Technology Center.
Albrecht is a frequent national speaker on workforce development and has testified before Congress on career and technical education (CTE) issues. He has served on the board of many of organizations that work to improve workforce development, including the American Association of Community Colleges and the National Manufacturing Skills Standards Council, among others.
Albrecht also was nationally noted for his approach to helping his college and community heal when civil unrest erupted after Jacob Blake, a Black man, was killed by police in August 2020 in one of cities that Gateway Tech serves. The college addressed it by immediately holding conversations with staff to let people express their feelings and share ideas on improving the community. The college also created a vice president position to oversee diversity, equity and inclusion and to lead those campus and community discussions. It also opened dialogues with community leaders to learn about other affected areas in the community, including workforce development.
Albrecht joined Gateway Tech in 2003 as associate vice president for advanced technology, leading corporate partnerships and advanced technology strategies. In 2005, he was promoted to chief academic and operating officer.
Albrecht started his 38-year career in education as a teacher and coach for the Cornell and Kewaunee school districts. In 1987, he began his administrative career as a consultant for technology education at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), eventually serving as a division administrator, leading CTE for the state. Highlights of his career at DPI include being named national director of the year by Jobs for the Future and distinguished educator by the International Technology Education Association.
“Dr. Albrecht has been an inspirational leader for our entire community as well as the Wisconsin Technical College System,” said Gateway board chair Scott Pierce. “Bryan’s vision and commitment to student success has transformed Gateway into a national model for technical education.”
Ric N. Baser, president of Northwest Vista College (NVC), has announced that he will retire as president of the second-largest community college in San Antonio, effective June 1. He has served as president since 2014. During his tenure, NVC’s enrollment increased from 15,797 in 2014 to 18,542 in 2020. NVC graduation numbers grew by more than 90%, from 1,617 awarded associate degrees in 2014 to 3,079 in 2020. In addition, NVC’s Hispanic enrollment increased from 57% in 2014 to 64% in 2020.
During Baser’s tenure, NVC expanded student programs and resources. Through business partnerships, the college team established the Microsoft Datacenter Academy, Amazon Web Services Academy and two field schools for anthropology and environmental sustainability. In 2020, NVC became the first college within the Alamo Colleges District to establish a local chapter of SALUTE Veterans Honor Society.
In 2019, the West San Antonio Chamber of Commerce recognized Baser with an Educator of the Year Legacy Award.
“Dr. Baser’s vision and Northwest Vista College’s contributions played an integral role in the Alamo Colleges District winning the 2019 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award,” Mike Flores, chancellor of the Alamo Colleges District, said in a release.
Prior to NVC, Baser was vice president and chief academic officer at Tulsa Community College in Oklahoma for six years. He also served for 11 years at Rose State College in Oklahoma as vice president for academic affairs and as vice president for student affairs. Earlier in his career, he was vice president for student affairs at Seminole State College in Oklahoma.
Robert S. Shackleford, president of Randolph Community College, has announced his plans to retire on July 1. He has led the college for 15 years.
Shackleford previously was dean of student services at RCC from 2000-2003 before taking the vice president of student services position at Rockingham Community College. He first joined RCC in 1998 as the program head for the early childhood associate curriculum and eventually became chair of the human services department. He also taught early childhood education, human development, family studies, sociology, human relations and leadership development at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, High Point University and Gardner-Webb University.
“You have been a blessing to our college and we can’t thank you enough for all that you’ve done,” Mac Sherrill, the college’s board chair, said in a release. “We’ll miss you. You’re retiring at the top of your game.”
Shackleford’s work to serve the college and its community has earned him many accolades. In 2011, he received the Citizen of the Year award from the Asheboro/Randolph Chamber of Commerce. In 2013, he was named President of the Year by the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges, and in 2019 he received the Lifetime Achievement award from the Archdale Trinity Chamber of Commerce. Shackleford was selected as one of the Triad Business Journal’s C-Suite Award winners in 2021.
A member of the U.S. Army Reserves from 1985-1992, Shackleford also served as battalion chaplain and assistant division chaplain. He served as a chaplain in the North Carolina Air National Guard from 1992 until his retirement in 2008. From 1997 until his retirement, he was the Wing Chaplain (senior supervisory chaplain) for the 145th Airlift Wing.
Obituary
Michael Elam, president of North Carolina’s Halifax Community College (HCC) since 2017, passed away on January 25 after an illness. He was 65.
Under Elam’s leadership, the college extended higher education pathways for students by facilitating various admissions agreements with Winston-Salem State University, East Carolina University and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. On the workforce side, Elam worked to fundraise to build a new advanced manufacturing and corporate training center and other campus renovations, and he helped to establish North Carolina’s first Clean Energy Youth Apprenticeship pilot program. He also worked to extend ties with area K-12 systems by helping to expand two early college high school programs.
To serve the community, the college under Elam’s leadership opened a food pantry on campus, partnered with the Rural Health Group to establish a clinical site on campus for students, staff and community members, and teamed with the Northampton County Branch of the NAACP to host Operation Restore Hope, a clinic that gave guidance on record expunction.
Elam’s service to the college and community was recognized by local, state and national leaders.
“Dr. Elam spent many years committed to educating students in underserved communities. He was an outstanding educator who created pathways for his students to advance themselves in their careers and lives,” said Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-North Carolina) in a release.
Prior to HCC, Elam was president of Roanoke-Chowan Community College from 2013 to 2016. He also served as interim chancellor at Central Louisiana Technical Community College from 2012 to 2013, president of College of the Mainland in Texas from 2009 to 2011, and vice president for student development at Daytona State College in Florida from 1999 to 2009.
Appointments
Jacqueline Korengel is now dean for adult education at Savannah Technical College in Georgia. Previously, she was deputy executive director for the education and workforce development cabinet for the commonwealth of Kentucky and served as acting executive director during 2020-2021.
Evelyn Rivera-Riffenburg is now executive director of human resources at Holyoke Community College in Massachusetts. Over her career, she has worked in human resources for the town of Amherst, Medtronic (formerly Covidien), Hot Mama’s Foods, C&S Wholesale Grocers and Coca-Cola.
Mignon Turner Houston is Miami Dade College’s new diplomat in residence, where she shares information on student internships and fellowships as well as how to become a foreign service officer. She previously was a diplomat with the U.S. State Department for 15 years.
At Houston Community College, Marshall Heins has been appointed to senior vice chancellor of finance and administration and as chief financial/business officer, and Desmond Lewis has been promoted to associate vice chancellor of college readiness. Heins and Lewis both previously served in interim roles in their positions. Prior to that, Heins was chief facilities officer for the college. Lewis joined the Texas college as an adjunct before accepting a full-time faculty position in 2008. He has served as a dean, department chair and faculty senate president at the college.
At Motlow State Community College in Tennessee, Pamela Harris has been named dean of the college’s Moore County Campus, and Walter McCord will be dean of career and technical programs. Harris also serves as an associate professor of sociology and psychology, while McCord serves as an assistant professor of cyber defense.
