Dr. Mark Blegen has been appointed as the new President of Linfield University effective July 1, 2025. Dr. Blegen currently serves as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Carroll University, a 3,300-student liberal arts university in Waukesha, Wisconsin. At Carroll, he oversaw a $40 million academic affairs budget, took part in comprehensive fundraising campaigns and played a key role in creating and implementing inclusive hiring practices for faculty and staff. Under his leadership, Carroll launched its first Ph.D program, expanded masters-level offerings and partnered with a high school in downtown Milwaukee to offer an on-site associate degree program, Carroll University’s first. The associate degree in nursing (ADN) focuses on educating and developing bilingual nurses. Previously, Dr. Blegen held posts at St. Catherine University in Minnesota. He served as associate dean, then dean of the Henrietta Schmoll School of Health Sciences and chaired the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Science. He began his academic career teaching as an assistant professor at Mount Union College and Springfield College. Blegen holds a doctorate in exercise physiology from Kent State University, a master’s degree in exercise physiology from St. Cloud University and a Bachelor of Arts in sports science with a sports medicine focus from St. Olaf College. Read more.
Dr. Andrew Barnes has been appointed as the new President of Pennsylvania College of Art & Design. Dr. Barnes currently serves as the Dean of the School of the Arts, Communication, and Global Studies, and of the School of Behavioral Sciences and Education at York College of Pennsylvania. For eleven years prior to coming to York, Barnes worked at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, and for eight of those years served as the Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Barnes is a leader in higher education with advanced degrees in the arts and humanities. He is a community-focused executive with exceptional communication skills and a leadership style that fosters communication, transparency, and trust. Dr. Barnes holds a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Indianapolis, a M.A. in Humanities and Social Thought from New York University, as well as a Ph.D. in English from SUNY-Stony Brook. Most recently, Dr. Barnes earned his M.F.A. in Creative Non-Fiction from Bennington Writing Seminars. Read more.
Ms. Rebecca Kocher has been appiointed as the new Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Executive Director of the CSU Foundation of Central State University, effective December 9, 2024. Ms.Kocher comes to Central State from Wittenberg University, where she served as Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Engagement. Before joining Wittenberg, Ms. Kocher served at Bowling Green State University, as well as at Albion College and the University of Mary Washington. Ms. Kocher earned a B.A. in Speech Communications from Edinboro University. Read more.
Ms. Casey Cline has been appointed as the new Director of Workforce and Career Development of Lander University and will begin on January 1, 2025. Ms. Cline has been providing comprehensive and intentional career guidance to students for the past decade, serving most recently as the Director of Career and Professional Development at Newberry College since 2021. Prior to Newberry, Ms. Cline served for 4 years as a Disability and Career Services Counselor at Midlands Technical College. Ms. Cline holds master's degrees from Nazareth University in Higher Education Student Affairs Administration and in Clinical Art Therapy, and she holds a B.A. in Art Therapy from Mercyhurst University.
Mr. David B. Moore has been appointed as the new Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer of Ohio University, effective January 6, 2025. Mr. Moore has provided leadership for the University Budget Office at Rutgers University since 2019, serving as Chief Budget Officer and Assistant Vice President for Financial Planning and Analytics (2019-2020), Associate Vice President for Financial Planning and Analytics (2020-2022), and Vice President for Financial Planning and Analytics (2022-present). Prior to Rutgers, Mr. Moore served for 5 years in various capacities at George Mason University, including Associate Budget Director, Director of Budget and Planning Analysis, and Assistant Vice President and Chief Budget Officer. Mr. Moore holds a B.S. in Business Administration - Accountancy from California State University, Stanislaus. Read more.
Mr. Bob Calhoun has been appointed as the new Senior Director of Prospect Research and Management of San Francisco State University. Mr. Calhoun will begin his new role on November 12th. Mr. Calhoun comes to San Francisco State from the Climate Leadership Initiative, where he has served as Senior Research Analyst since 2019. Prior to CLI, he served as Senior Research Analyst at the University of California, Berkeley between 2008 and 2019. Mr. Calhoun earned a B.A. in Broadcasting and Electronic Communications Arts from San Francisco State University.
Dr. Lawrence T. Potter, Jr. has been appointed as the new Vice President for Academic Affairs of Canisius University. As noted in the press release, "Potter joins Canisius from the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), where he served as the chief academic officer and provost since 2019. In this capacity, he provided academic vision and leadership for the exclusively public, historically Black urban land-grant university. UDC offers more than 80 degree programs at the bachelor, master, and doctoral levels and serves nearly 4,000 degree-seeking students with a faculty and staff of over 400. Potter led six academic colleges and workforce development, university libraries, research and graduate education, and the Center for Teaching and Learning. In addition to academic and strategic planning efforts, he oversaw the academic program review process, accreditation, academic partnerships, and managed a $69 million budget for academic affairs." Dr. Potter holds a PhD and MA in English (literature and criticism) from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a BA in English, religion, and philosophy from Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, AL. He will begin his duties with Canisius on November 11, 2024. Read more.
Dr. Lin Zhou has been appointed as the new Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Texas Tech University. Dr. Zhou begins his new role on September 23, 2024. Before joining TTU, Dr. Zhou served as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at The New School in New York City. Prior to his role at The New School, Dr. Zhou played a critical role in leading IBM Watson Education from a start-up to a global leader of artificial intelligence in education. Dr. Zhou holds a Bachelor of Science from Nanjing University in China and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Glasgow, UK. Read more.
Mr. Tom Rosko has been appointed as the new Consortium Library Dean of University of Alaska Anchorage. He will begin transitioning into the role in late September. Mr. Rosko has over 30 years of experience working in libraries and archives. He comes to UAA from the Naval Postgraduate School, where he has served as university librarian since 2019. Mr. Rosko also previously served as head of the Institute Archives and Special Collections at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology libraries. He brings a breadth of leadership experience, with expertise in administration, policy, budget, strategic planning, collection development and management, outreach and engagement, preservation and more. Mr. Rosko, who received a Master of Library Science from Rutgers University and a bachelor's in history from Bucknell University, currently serves as an executive committee member of the Pacific Library Partnership, board member of the Monterey Bay Area Cooperative Library System and member of the Association of College and Research Libraries. An experienced public speaker, he has presented on a variety of topics, including digital archives and preservation, institutional repositories and strategies for digital information life-cycle management.