Kudos
Warren Nichols, president of College of the Mainland (COM) in Texas, will receive the Michael Bennett Lifetime Achievement Award and will be inducted into the Texas Hall of Honor for Retiring Presidents by the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society. The award is presented to retiring college presidents nominated by their PTK chapter in recognition of their many years of dedication to student success and mentorship of student leaders.
“The most rewarding part of my career has been seeing students succeed — whether that’s earning a degree, starting a new career or achieving a personal goal,” said Nichols, who plans to retire this summer.
Madeline Pumariega, president of Florida’s Miami Dade College, has received the International Women’s Day Achievement Award from World Trade Center Miami for her visionary leadership and commitment to advancing education. The award highlights women in international business or trade, their commitment to advancing relations between the local community, state, country and globally, as well as their role in creating and supporting jobs and fostering economic development, according to a release.
“Miami Dade College contributes $7.1 billion to the Florida economy,” Pumariega said in a release. “This recognition underscores our commitment to advancing student success pathways that lead to in-demand careers and drive economic development in the region.”
Appointments
Naomi Bender has been appointed the inaugural director of tribal relations at Spokane Colleges in Washington. Previously, she was director of Native American health sciences and director of the Center for Native American Health at Washington State University in Spokane.
Kendall D. Isaac will join the College of Southern Maryland on March 24 as its vice president of policy, compliance, government relations and general counsel. He previously was vice president, general counsel and secretary of the university at Clark University from October 2021 to August 2024.
Jessica Price is now associate chief of staff at Waubonsee Community College in Illinois. She comes from Elgin Community College (Illinois), where she was executive assistant to the chief marketing, communications and government relations officer.
At Alabama’s Gadsden State Community College, Andy Robertson has been promoted to dean of workforce development, and Stephanie Austin is the new director of its surgical technology program. Robertson, an alumnus of Gadsden State, had served as the college’s workforce development coordinator since 2020. Austin most recently was director of the surgical technology program and director of central processing at Walters State Community College (Tennessee).
Rowan College at Burlington County (New Jersey) has appointed two new deans: Francis Canedo will lead the humanities, business and social sciences department and Ashley Castiglia will take the helm for enrollment management. Canedo comes from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she was director of University Honors. Castiglia previously served at Passaic County Community College (New Jersey), where she was director of admissions.
