Mid-Hudson Valley Executive Director Peer Group: Post

Herkimer College announces finalists in presidential search

By STEPHANIE SORRELL-WHITE
Times Staff Writer

The Times

By STEPHANIE SORRELL-WHITE
Times Staff Writer

Posted Nov. 21, 2014 @ 5:15 pm

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Blacklaw
By STEPHANIE SORRELL-WHITE
Times Staff Writer
Posted Nov. 21, 2014 @ 5:15 pm

HERKIMER — The Herkimer County Community College Board of Trustees announced the finalists in their search for a new president Friday.

Campus forums with each of the four candidates will take place in December, with specific dates and details related to the visits to be forthcoming.

The finalists for the position are Stuart Blacklaw, vice president for instruction and student services at Yavapai College in Arizona; Eunice Bellinger, vice president of academic affairs at Niagara County Community College; John Nader, provost at SUNY Delhi; and Cathleen McColgin, provost and senior vice president at Onondaga Community College.

“I am very pleased with how the search is progressing, and would like to thank the search committee for their time and thorough work,” said Isabella Crandall, chairperson of the college’s Board of Trustees. “I am optimistic that we will select a leader whose experience, talents and vision will serve our college and community well into the future.”

The board did not provide information on when they expect to have a new president in place.

Ann Marie Murray retired on Jan. 31 after five and half years as head of the college, and is currently working at the University at Albany in the Office of the Provost as the associate provost for program and development.

Nicholas Laino, the college’s vice president of administration and finance, was named interim president and officer-in-charge after Murray’s retirement.

The college hired the search firm College CEOs to aid in their efforts to find a new president, which started in September. The new president will be the fourth president to serve in the nearly 50-year history of the college.

The college provided information about each candidate.

Blacklaw previously served as vice president for instruction at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He also served colleges in the State University of New York system, including as an associate dean for curriculum and instruction at Jefferson County Community College in Watertown and dean of curriculum and program development at Monroe Community College in Rochester.

Blacklaw has a bachelor’s in communication from Olivet College and a master’s degree in telecommunications arts from the University of Michigan. He holds a doctorate in higher education - academic administration from Capella University.

Bellinger previously held positions as executive vice president of academic affairs and provost at Genesee Community College, interim provost at Massachusetts Bay Community College, chief administrative officer and chief operating officer at Long Island Center of Empire State College, founding dean of the graduate program in education at Abu Dhabi University and dean of liberal arts at American University in Dubai.

Bellinger has nearly 23 years of teaching experience including professor of social sciences at Camp Doha in Kuwait for the University of Maryland, where she received the Stanley Drazek Teaching Excellence Award in 2001. She was also an associate professor in the College of Education at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training in Kuwait and associate professor of social science at the State University of New York in Alfred. Bellinger has a doctorate’s in the sociology of education and a master’s in education in counseling psychology from the State University of New York in Buffalo, and a bachelor’s in personnel management from Niagara University.

Page 2 of 2 - As provost, Nader directly supervises all academic programs, as well as the library and learning center, career and business services, grants and sponsored programs and partnerships with community colleges and local high schools. From 2012 to 2013, he was presider of the SUNY Chief Academic Officers organization. Previously, Nader was the dean of liberal arts and sciences at the State University of New York at Delhi, where he oversaw the introduction of new degree programs in environmental studies and criminal justice and led the creation of the college’s first general education plan.

From 2006 to 2010, Nader served as mayor of Oneonta, served 12 years as an Otsego County legislator and as chair of the Opportunities for Otsego Board. Nader holds a bachelor’s degree in politics from Ithaca College and a master’s and doctorate in economics from the New School for Social Research.

McColgin is currently responsible for providing leadership and oversight of all educational services, including academic departments and programs, faculty professional development, student academic support services and instructional design and delivery. McColgin has served on several college-wide, SUNY-wide and local community boards and committees and is an evaluator for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

McColgin served as an officer in the United States Army Reserve as a member of the 376th Combat Support Hospital, obtaining the rank of captain. She has worked as a registered nurse, teacher and coordinator of the Nursing Arts Laboratory at Cayuga Community College, after which she was named provost of Cayuga Community College’s Fulton campus in 2001. She holds an associate’s in respiratory therapy from Washtenaw Community College in Michigan, in nursing from Cayuga Community College, a bachelor’s from Syracuse University’s College of Nursing and master’s in nursing and a doctorate in higher education from Syracuse University.
By STEPHANIE SORRELL-WHITE
Times Staff Writer

The Times

By STEPHANIE SORRELL-WHITE
Times Staff Writer

Posted Nov. 21, 2014 @ 5:15 pm