New CEOs
Matthew Dempsey will serve as the next president of Lone State College (LSC)-University Park. He has been serving as the Texas college’s interim leader since June.
Dempsey has 25 years of experience in higher education. He worked in various administrative and instructional positions at Dallas College from 1999 to 2021 and joined the LSC system in 2021 as vice president of instruction at LSC-CyFair. Dempsey, an alumnus of Saddleback College in California, was also a part-time biology instructor for 18 years, showing his commitment to teaching and student learning.
David R. Jones will become the next president of Allegany College of Maryland on January 1. He is a 28-year veteran of the college and currently serves as its vice president of advancement and community relations and executive director of the Allegany College of Maryland Foundation.
Under Jones’ leadership, Allegany College of Maryland has secured more than $68 million in grant funding for a range of initiatives, from academic programs and athletics, to capital projects and workforce development programs. Jones has collaboratively raised more than $30 million for the college’s affiliated foundations and awarded over $20 million in student scholarships. He is widely regarded for his skills in government relations and his dedication to the region.
Omar Javier Torres has been named the fifth president of De Anza College in California, effective January 3. He is currently assistant superintendent/vice president of instruction at College of the Canyons in California.
Torres also serves in statewide roles as president of the California Community Colleges (CCC) Chief Instructional Officers Association and as a member of the CCC Curriculum Committee, Consultation Council and the Community College League of California’s Advisory Committee on Legislation.
Prior to becoming vice president in 2020, Torres served three years as College of the Canyons’ associate vice president of instruction. Previously, held positions that included instructional dean of the School of Mathematics, Sciences & Health Professions at College of the Canyons, vice president of academic affairs at Santa Ana College, department chair and tenured professor of chemistry at Moorpark College, and adjunct faculty member at Los Angeles City College.
Appointments
Maryam Laguna Borrego has been appointed senior vice president and chief operating officer at Miami Dade College in Florida. She will retain her role as chief of staff to President Madeline Pumariega.
Heather Hartley-Cowden is now dean of adult education at Savannah Technical College in Georgia. Among her previous positions, Hartley-Cowden was academic program coordinator and student services administrator at Dublin City Schools and assessment program coordinator at the Georgia Center for Assessment, part of the College of Education at the University of Georgia.
Elizabeth Nesius will become the next dean of general studies at Wisconsin’s Western Technical College. She currently is interim dean of humanities, business and social sciences at Rowan College at Burlington County in New Jersey and was associate dean in the same division since November 2019.
Erin Tipton is now vice president of advancement and workforce development at Kentucky’s Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC). She has held several leadership positions at both BCTC and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS), including associate vice president for workforce solutions at BCTC and director of technical programs at KCTCS.
Kudos
Devin Purgason, executive director of marketing and student care at Forsyth Technical Community College in North Carolina, has been named the American Marketing Association (AMA) Emerging Marketer in Higher Education for 2024. AMA said the award recognizes Purgason’s innovative spirit, creative vision and transformative approach to marketing in higher education. This is the first time that a community college staff member has received the award.
