Two Finalists Named in Search for President Murphy’s Successor

February 2, 2015

Following visits to the JSC campus the week of Jan. 26 by four semi-finalist candidates, the Johnson State College Presidential Search Committee announced on Monday, Feb. 2, the selection of two candidates for finalist interviews:

• Dr. Elaine Collins, Dean of the College of Education at Grand Valley State University (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
• Dr. Mills Kelly, Presidential Fellow and Professor in the Department of History & Art History at George Mason University (Fairfax, Va.)

On Monday, Feb. 9, both candidates will return to Vermont to meet with the full Vermont State College Board of Trustees. The announcement of President Murphy’s successor will be communicated as soon as the decision is finalized.

With the selection of the two finalists, the search committee’s work is now complete and it has been disbanded. Johnson State College would like to acknowledge and thank the members for their work and the process they established to involve and solicit feedback from students, faculty and staff during the candidates’ visits to campus:

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

JSC President Barbara E. Murphy will retire from her position on June 30, 2015, following a 32-year career in Vermont higher education, including 14 as Johnson State president. Murphy took leadership of JSC in 2001 after serving as the president of the Community College of Vermont from 1994 to 2001.