Newsmakers
Bentley Wallace has been named chancellor of Arkansas State University (ASU)-Mountain Home, effective August 1. He has served as president of South Arkansas College since 2020.
Prior to SouthArk, Wallace served at the University of Arkansas Pulaski Technical College as dean of technical and professional studies from 2018 to 2020 and as vice chancellor for economic development from 2013 to 2018. He was division chair and director of business and transportation technology at ASU-Newport from 2006 to 2013. His private sector experience includes director of operations at Ronnie Dowdy Trucking Inc., division manager for WCA Waste Systems Inc. and general manager of JIT Warehouse Services.
“His combined history of work in the private sector and developing higher education partnerships with business and industry will serve the Mountain Home region well,” Arkansas State University System President Charles Welch said in a release. “His strong leadership, management and fund-raising skills will benefit ASU-Mountain Home and its constituencies.”
New CEO
Amanuel Gebru has been named the next president of Los Angeles City College, effective August 1. He is currently vice president of instruction and student services at Moorpark College (California).
“Dr. Gebru has the vision, energy and leadership experience to lead LACC with strategic agility, empathy and integrity,” Los Angeles Community College District Chancellor Francisco Rodriguez said in a statement. “He has committed his entire career to serving diverse populations and is passionate about access and educational opportunity, advancing racial equity and increasing student achievement.”
The district’s board noted Gebru’s dedication to ensuring access to higher education in historically marginalized communities. He is a first-generation college student and immigrant focused on equitable student outcomes, mentoring and academic excellence, the board said.
Prior to Moorpark, Gebru worked in the TRIO programs at Los Angeles Southwest College and Los Angeles Valley College and as an adjunct instructor at several LACCD colleges. Gebru is also a leader and convener on African-American male student success as the president of the African American Male Educational Network and Development (A2MEND).
Interim CEO
Tiffanie Bentley will serve as interim president of Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) as of August 1. She is the college’s dean of administration.
Bentley joined SMCC in 2007 as director of student life, was promoted to dean of students in 2013 and named to her current post in 2019. Before coming to SMCC, which is the state system’s oldest and largest community college, Bemtley served at the University of Texas at Austin, Texas Woman’s University and the University of Southern Maine.
Obituary
David M. Bartley, the second president of Holyoke Community College (HCC) and a 1954 graduate of the Massachusetts college, passed away on June 13 at age 88.
The former Massachusetts Speaker of the House served as CEO of the college from July 1975 to January 2004. During his tenure, Bartley oversaw the construction of the Campus Center and the athletic facility, which bears his name. Under his leadership, enrollment at the college grew from about 2,000 to more than 6,500.
As a student at what was known then as Holyoke Junior College, Bartley studied liberal arts and was elected president of his freshman class and vice president of his sophomore class. He also played baseball and captained the men’s basketball team. He would continue to play basketball at the University of Massachusetts.
After teaching for four years at a local school, Bartley tried his hand at state politics and won a seat in the Massachusetts Legislature in 1963. He became speaker in 1969 at age 32 — still the youngest person to have served in that position. His legislative highlights included a one-year prison sentence for illegal gun possession and mainstreaming special needs students in public schools. As speaker, Bartley’s influence was critical in securing the state funds to construct a new campus on Homestead Avenue after a 1968 fire destroyed the main campus building on Sergeant Street, according to the college.
In 1975 Bartley began his 28-year tenure as HCC president. One of his first initiatives as president was to start an alumni association, according to the college. In the 1980s, Bartley led to the creation the first philanthropic community college foundation in Massachusetts. By the time he retired in 2004, the foundation endowment had reached $3 million.
HCC employees remember Bartley fondly.
“He was really good for this place. He loved the school,” said Tom Stewart, HCC director of athletics, activities and clubs, who worked with Bartley for eight years before the latter retired but maintained a close relationship with him. “Nobody was too big or too small for David. Everybody was part of David’s team. He treated everybody the same, which was unusual for a man in his position.”
Kudos
Lisa M. Chapman, president of Central Carolina Community College (North Carolina), this week is visiting the United Kingdom on a clean energy and workforce development-focused mission. She is part of a 20-person delegation comprising state officials, higher education leaders and economic developers who will learn how industries such as electric vehicles, offshore wind, aerospace and more can contribute to economic development and increased trade and investment. For example, the group will tour a Jaguar Land Rover’s electric vehicle factory in England and discuss marine energy and workforce development issues with policymakers and business leaders in Wales.
Juan R. Olivarez, president emeritus of Grand Rapids Community College in Michigan, has been honored by the college with the dedication of the Juan R. Olivarez Student Plaza and a mural.
GRCC President EmeritusJuan Olivarez and artist Raymond Trujillo, a GRCC graduate. (Photo: GRCC)
“When we look back at the long and rich history of Grand Rapids Community College, there are leaders who shaped the institution into what we celebrate today,” said GRCC President Charles Lepper. “We can say they were, undoubtedly, the right people at the right time. Dr. Olivarez is without question one of those leaders, and I’m proud to dedicate this plaza and mural so his story will continue to inspire students for decades to come.”
The mural was painted along the plaza near the GRCC Student Center by alumnus Raymond Trujillo. It celebrates Olivarez’s ancestry and role as a trailblazer. Olivarez is the first Hispanic person to serve as a college or university president in Michigan. He was president of GRCC twice, serving from 1999 to 2008, and then as interim president from June 2022 to January 2023.
In a release from the college, Trujillo said the mural, which depicts a Mexican courtyard, is a labor of love, sharing his appreciation for GRCC, its students and caring employees.
“The butterflies represent the students here on campus,” he said. “I was one of those monarch butterflies.”
Appointments
Nicole Albo-Lopez will serve as vice chancellor of educational programs and institutional effectiveness at the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), effective July 1. She has held several administrative posts at the district and its colleges, from dean to vice president of academic affairs and workforce development, most recently serving as interim vice chancellor for LACCD.
Michelle A. Campbell is now senior vice president for advancement and community engagement at Montgomery College in Maryland. She previously was vice president for institutional advancement at Middlesex College in New Jersey, which under her leadership increased grant funding from $2 million to more than $12 million annually.
Douglas Evans is the new vice president and executive director of the Forsyth Tech Foundation at Forsyth Technical Community College in North Carolina, effective August 1. He is currently executive director of development at Centre College in Kentucky.
Jeanne LaHaie has been named dean of humanities and social sciences at Jackson State Community College in Tennessee. She previously was dean of instruction at Klamath Community College in Oregon.
Viktoryia McGrath is now the art gallery director at the Center for Fine and Performing Arts at Seminole State College of Florida. She has taught at the college for more than a decade and has curated exhibitions in central Florida since 2007.
Reyna Gómez Tippetts is the new dean of Lone Star College‘s (LSC) East Aldine Center. She previously was the advising director at LSC’s North Harris campus. Tippetts is a graduate of the Texas college, where she worked as a custodian before earning an associate of applied science degree in professional office studies in 2010 and attaining higher degrees.
