Nicholas has served as president of Butler County Community College since 2007. His presidency at a single institution exceeds that of any current chief executive officer among Pennsylvania’s 14 community colleges, 14 State System of Higher Education universities, and four state-related institutions. Prior to being appointed as president, Nicholas served as BC3’s vice president for academic affairs and as dean of humanities and social science. He was also an assistant professor and chair of the Communication Department at Marist College. Nicholas has served as board chair of the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, as chair of two Butler County Heart Association walks and of the Butler County Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife, Tamatha, have also volunteered as co-chairs of the Butler County March of Dimes walk. He is a member of the executive committee and a board member of the Community Development Corp. of Butler County. Nicholas has received a Jean B. Purvis Community Cornerstone Award, presented to an individual who has contributed significantly to the health and well-being of the community; and a Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction, the most prestigious award presented by Phi Theta Kappa. His expertise in communication has been recognized with the […]
Dr. Yves Salomon-Fernández is the President of Urban College of Boston (UCB), an affiliate institution of Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). Prior to joining UCB, Dr. Salomon-Fernández served as Senior Vice President for Operations Planning at SNHU. Before SNHU, Yves led several community colleges as president in Massachusetts and New Jersey. She periodically serves as adjunct faculty of higher education leadership. In addition to leading UCB, Dr. Salomon-Fernández currently serves on the Steering Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Inclusive Economies initiative that creates private-public partnerships to ensure full economic participation in urban and rural communities. She is also a former member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Community Development Advisory Council and a former Corporator of Greenfield Cooperative Bank. Dr. Salomon-Fernández periodically serves as a reviewer for the National Science Foundation and Johns Hopkins University Press. Yves Salomon-Fernández is a current member of the Board of Directors at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). She also serves as a member of the Board of Double Edge Theater, located in rural western Massachusetts. Yves is the former Chair of the American Council of Education’s Learner Success Lab Advisory Council and member of Job for the […]
Dr. Bruce C. Kusch became the 13th president of Ensign College on April 17, 2017. He previously served as the Chief Academic Officer from March 2016 until assuming his current role. Dr. Kusch’s academic career began in August 2002, when he joined the Business Management Faculty at Brigham Young University-Idaho. While there, he also served as the Associate Academic Vice President for Curriculum and as Associate Dean for Online Programs. Before joining the BYU-Idaho faculty, Dr. Kusch worked in the high technology industry in Silicon Valley, CA. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Phoenix, an MBA from the Keller Graduate School of Management, and a PhD in instructional design from Idaho State University. Dr. Kusch’s tenure as the president of Ensign College includes leading a complete institutional transformation that includes changes in methods of learning and teaching, general education reform, refocusing the institution on its core mission, the introduction of Bachelor of Applied Science degrees, and entering into a strategic partnership resulting in significant enrollment increases.
Originally, Amy thought she was going to be a Music Librarian, having received her MLS from the University at Buffalo, SUNY; however, she discovered she liked managing and changed her professional trajectory to focus on leadership in libraries. Prior to WCU, Amy was Director of Technical Services at Gettysburg College where she partnered her Technical Services staff with all aspects of the library services and programs offered at a small liberal arts college library. Now at WCU, Amy oversees strategic planning, personnel development, public services, and facilities management. When she’s not in the library, Amy supports an ultra-runner, is learning to identify bird calls, and enjoys an ice-cold micro-brew from the neighborhood brewpubs.
Deirdre’s career path in Access Services began as a student worker at Temple University. She learned and developed as staff before moving into leadership roles. She received her M.S. in Library Science from Drexel University and is currently the Access Services Manager at West Chester University Libraries.
Dr. Josie Ahlquist is a digital engagement and leadership researcher, speaker, and consultant. She teaches teens, young adults, education professionals, and campus executives how to humanize technology tools and prioritize building online community. She also serves as a research associate and instructor at Florida State University, creating curriculum to build digital literacy and leadership skills for undergraduates up to doctorate level students. She is extensively published and maintains an active blog and podcast (Josie & The Podcast), which have received accolades from EdTech Magazine, Inside Higher Ed and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Her book, Digital Leadership in Higher Education: Purposeful Social Media in a Connected World, comes out in July 2020. Josie received her doctorate from California Lutheran University in Higher Education Leadership, Masters in Education from Northern Arizona University. She majored in sociology and human development at South Dakota State University.
Kim is passionate about helping people do better business and creating happy and healthy organizations through organizational development efforts. She has over 25 years of private and public, executive-level experience, which enables her to think critically about business challenges, develop key relationships and partnerships, and implement strategic solutions. Kim is currently responsible for preparing U of SC’s leaders through the LEAD Management and Emerging Leader (ELP) development programs. She also provides individual and group consultations and workshops on team effectiveness, Lean process improvement, navigating organizational change, and business-critical planning and analysis. Kim is a proud Seahawk from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and is now honored to be a Gamecock at the University of South Carolina.
Catherine (Katie) is an award-recognized* scholar honored by her national disciplinary organizations. Her leadership experience includes numerous administrative assignments and higher-education leadership roles over the past 12 years, including department chair, graduate director, undergraduate director, internship coordinator, faculty senate president serving on the Chancellor’s Leadership Team and Provost’s Leadership Council, and most recently, Dean. Katie is a scholar and leader who balances her leadership and administrative activities with her commitment to and love of research, teaching, and program and curriculum development. She collaborated with college and university colleagues on a successfully funded violence against women (VAW) faculty research cluster in which she serves as co-lead. Katie developed mentorship programs, provided peer evaluation of teaching, and has performed annual and promotion review for diverse employee groups, including tenure-track faculty, instructors, professional research assistants, research and staff interns, finance officers, office staff, work study, undergraduate and graduate student employees, and professional interviewers. *Awards include: 2020 Coramae Richey Mann Leadership Award from the Minorities and Women Section of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences; 2019 American Society of Criminology Division on Women and Crime Distinguished Scholar Award; and 2019 American Society of Criminology Division of Victimology Bonnie S. Fisher Victimology Career Achievement Award
As the Learning and Talent Development Manager for the University of California Santa Cruz, Adrienne Harrell creates avenues for people to learn and grow. Ms. Harrell believes that education transforms lives and throughout her 30 years of service primarily in higher education, her professional expertise and personal commitment to creating educational access and opportunity, especially for those from underrepresented communities, continues to be realized. An authentic communicator and courageous truth-teller, Adrienne has served successfully in many management and leadership roles at UC Santa Cruz, including Assistant Dean of Humanities, Director of Undergraduate Student Affairs, and the first Director of Development for Student Affairs and the Colleges, where she helped to establish the Smith Scholarship for Foster Youth. Adrienne served as the Deputy Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, a non-profit organization focused on teacher quality public policy issues. A graduate of Pomona College, Adrienne began her service in higher education at Pomona, where she served as the Assistant Director of Annual Giving and the Assistant Dean of Admissions. An active community volunteer, Adrienne’s current and past service include Board Member of Escuela Popular, dual-language immersion Academy, African American Second Saturday Network, and the National Center for Women and […]
Bill is author of Lean Higher Education: Increasing the Value and Performance of University Processes 2nd Edition (2020, Routledge), an update to his 2010 book and acknowledged to be the definitive book on Lean Higher Education (LHE). Bill’s research interests include understanding and improving the application of Lean principles and practices in higher education, expanding the contributions of IO psychology to the understanding, application, and evaluation of Lean. He continues to publish and present work on LHE and has been an invited keynote speaker on the topic of LHE. He has also participated in numerous university initiatives to improve university processes and effectiveness, and advises colleges and universities contemplating the adoption of Lean. Bill has over 35 years of experience in higher education. He is a professor of industrial-organizational psychology at Bowling Green State University where he holds an administrative appointment as Vice President for Faculty Affairs and Strategic Initiatives. He has served in a number of leadership roles at the university including program director of the nationally ranked doctoral program in IO psychology, chair of the department of psychology, and Dean of BGSU Firelands College. In 1996-97, he was a Fellow of the American Council on Education and spent […]
