CEO on the move
Justin Guillory will become president of Whatcom Community College (Washington) as of May 1. He previously served for 12 years as president of Northwest Indian College (NWIC) until October 2024.
“With a proven commitment to student success, academic excellence and community engagement, Justin is well-equipped to build on our college’s values and continue strengthening our impact,” said John Pedlow, chair of the WCC board of trustees.
The board highlighted Guillory’s leadership efforts, such as the development and completion of a strategic plan, accreditation reaffirmations in 2017 and 2024, and enhanced degree program options, including distance learning, new facilities and campus improvements, and student success initiatives.
Prior to being president, Guillory served five years as NWIC’s dean of academics and distance learning, one year as dean of extended campus sites, and three years as the NWIC Nez Perce site coordinator and adjunct faculty.
Prior to NWIC, Guillory was a graduate assistant/mentor program coordinator within the Office of Multicultural Student Services at Washington State University. He has also served on the boards of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, the American Indian College Fund and the Washington Governors University Advisory Board.
New CEO
Muddassir Siddiqi will serve as the eighth president of the College of DuPage in Illinois. He is currently vice chancellor of instructional innovation and digital strategy at the Houston Community College System (HCCS). Prior to this role, Siddiqi was president of HCCS’s Central College for seven years.
Additional previous roles held by Siddiqi include interim college president, provost and vice president of academics and student development at Morton College in Illinois, and executive director of the Manufacturing Technology Institute and Skills Programs at the City Colleges of Chicago. Prior to his higher education career, Siddiqi held various roles in the corporate sector.
Interim president
Cory Homer has been named interim president at Sussex County Community College in New Jersey. He has served at the college for more than 10 years, most recently as vice president of student success and institutional effectiveness.
Over his career at SCCC, Homer has also served as associate vice president and associate dean of institutional effectiveness, marketing, enrollment management and distance learning. He’s also held the positions of director of institutional research, planning, assessment and distance learning, and associate director of institutional research and assessment.
Homer, 34, is also the mayor of Matamoras, Pennsylvania, a position he’s held since January 2024. In addition, he volunteers for the research commission of the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships.
Kudos
Larry Johnson, president of Guttman Community College, is among PoliticsNY’s and amNY Metro’s 2025 Black Power Players in New York for “driving positive change and making a lasting impact across the city and state.”
The publication says that Johnson has led transformational changes, launched initiatives like the Career Innovation HUB, and spearheaded the Guttman Forward 2028 strategic plan since becoming president of the New York City in 2021.
Appointments
Teri Leatherwood is the new athletic director at Carroll Community College. Leatherwood, who has served at Carroll as a student engagement associate since 2022, is the first woman to hold this position at the Maryland college.
At Waubonsee Community College in Illinois, Eric Aurand is now dean for mathematics and science, and Tamekia Smith is dean for business and social science. Previously, Aurand was a teaching professor at Arizona State University (ASU) and associate director of operations at ASU’s Lake Havasu Campus. Smith previously was assistant dean of career programs at Moraine Valley Community College.
