Four Semi-Finalist Candidates to Visit JSC Campus

January 5, 2015

Johnson State College Presidential Search Narrows To Four Semifinalists

The Johnson State College Presidential Search Committee has selected four semifinalists for campus visits in January. The semifinalists will conduct interviews with the search committee and visit with faculty, staff and students over the course of the week of January 26, 2015.

The four candidates are:

• Dr. Eric Becher, Vice President for Advancement at The University of Pikeville in Pikeville, Kentucky
• Dr. Elaine Collins, Chief Operating Officer of the College of Education at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan
• Dr. Ron Dempsey, Vice President for Advancement and University Development at Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, Georgia
• Dr. T. Mills Kelly,Presidential Fellow at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia

Following campus visits the search committee will make recommendations to the Vermont State Colleges Board of Trustees, which will conduct interviews in February.

The Johnson State College Presidential Search Committee members are:

• Jerry Diamond (Trustee, Committee Chair)
• Lynn Dickinson (Trustee, Committee Vice-Chair)
• Shayna Bennett (JSC Student)
• Kathleen Brinegar (JSC Professor of Education)
• Sara Kinerson (JSC Director of Advising)
• Ken Leslie (JSC Professor of Fine Arts)
• Gary Moore (Trustee)
• Martha O’Connor (Trustee, Chair of VSC Board)
• David Silverman (President/CEO of Union Bank, JSC Alumnus)
• Alyssa Slaimen (Trustee, JSC Student)
• Jeb Spaulding (Chancellor, Vermont State Colleges)
• Jamey Ventura (JSC Director of Athletics)
• Dave Wolk (President, Castleton State College)

Johnson State College President Barbara E. Murphy announced she will retire from her position on June 30, 2015. President Murphy will retire after a 32-year career in Vermont higher education, having served as Johnson State’s president for the past 14 years. Murphy took leadership of JSC in 2001 after serving as the president of the Community College of Vermont from 1994 to 2001.

Johnson State College began as a teachers’ college in 1866, and education remains one of the college’s flagship degree programs at both the bachelor’s and master’s levels. Today JSC offers more than 50 academic programs, including a variety of teaching endorsement options, as well as three master’s degrees and a statewide bachelor’s-degree completion program for adults with at least 60 college credits.

The Vermont State Colleges include Castleton State College, the Community College of Vermont, Johnson State College, Lyndon State College, and Vermont Technical College. The VSC currently serves over 12,000 students, including more than 10,000 Vermonters. In addition, it offers programs for high school students, business and industry, and returning students throughout the state.