Interim CEOs
FeRita Carter, vice president of student services at Riverside City College (RCC), is now its interim president.
Prior to RCC, Carter was dean of business and technology and a political science faculty member at Saint Augustine’s University in North Carolina. She also has served as vice president for student affairs and vice president for institutional advancement at Voorhees College, and vice president for student affairs and special assistant to the president/director of Title III Programs at Mississippi Valley State University.
Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap has been named interim chancellor of Seattle Community Colleges after serving as acting chancellor since August. She has served as president of South Seattle College (SCC) since 2018. Rimando-Chareunsap joined SCC in 2000 and has served as vice president of student services, director of student outreach and associate dean of student achievement.
Rimando-Chareunsap also has served on the executive committee of the Washington State Student Services Commission, White Center Community Development Association Board, and the Seattle University Student Development Administration Advisory Board. In addition, she has served on the National Asian Pacific Islander Council of the American Association of Community Colleges.
CEO retirement
Frank Chong, who has served as president of Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) since 2012, has announced his intent to retire in summer 2023.
Some of the California college’s accomplishments under Chong’s leadership include:
- Passage of a $410 million bond for new and updated technology and renovations and new facilities, including the Lindley Center for STEM Education.
- A new student housing project, which will open in August 2023, providing 352 affordable beds for students.
- Multiple diversity, equity, inclusion, antiracism and accessibility initiatives, resulting in a new ethnic studies department, more inclusive hiring practices, and the development of the SRJC Intercultural Center and associated student success centers.
- Response and recovery from multiple wildfires that devastated the community.
- Successful passage of Measure O, aimed at supporting mental health in the county and SRJC.
- Sustainability efforts that save $1.5 million in utility costs annually and reduce carbon emissions.
Dorothy Battenfeld, president of the college’s board, praised Chong’s collaborative leadership over the past decade.
“He has been an active, effective and well-respected leader, not just in the SRJC community but at the local, state and national level,” she said in a release.
Prior to SRJC, Chong served as deputy assistant secretary for community colleges at the U.S. Education Department. He was president of Laney College (California) from 2006 to 2009, and president of Mission College in Santa Clara from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, Chong was dean of student affairs at San Francisco City College from 1993 to 2003.
Before his time in college administration, Chong was special assistant to Willie Brown, speaker of the California Assembly, from 1987 to 1991, where he helped to create legislation in higher education, mental health, small and minority business affairs and local government.
Chong has participated on numerous higher education boards, including the Chief Executive Officers Board of the California Community Colleges, the American Council on Education Commission on Advancement of Racial and Ethnic Equity, and The Institute for College Affordability and Success. He is a former president and founding member of the national advocacy organization Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education.
Chong’s accolades include the Leadership Education for Asian Pacific Americans Award, NAACP Santa Clara County Chapter Diversity Award and Harvard Club of San Francisco Distinguished Alumni Award.
CEO obituary
Daniel Crowder, who was the first president of West Virginia Northern Community College (WVNCC) from 1972 to 1985, passed away on September 9 at age 95.
Prior to WVNCC, Crowder served in the Army Air Corps during WWII, taught courses from junior high through graduate school, and was active in the early development of Miami-Dade Community College in Florida.
Following his retirement from WVNCC, Crowder and his wife relocated to Florida, where he served as an adjunct professor at Florida International University in Miami. He eventually became the executive director of the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities.
“Although I never had the opportunity to personally meet Dr. Crowder, I have enjoyed many stories from employees and community members of his time at WVNCC,” WVNCC President Daniel Mosser said in a statement. “We are eternally grateful for his vision and leadership and for laying a strong foundation that has served our students and this community well for 50 years.”
Appointments
Brandon Tucker, vice president and chief workforce and community development officer at Washtenaw Community College (Michigan), is one of 24 individuals appointed to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Industrial Advisory Committee. The recently established committee will advise and provide guidance to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on issues related to domestic semiconductor research and development in support of the $50 billion CHIPS for America program.
At LaGuardia Community College (New York), Craig Greene is now chief diversity officer and Title IX coordinator, and Jay Golan is executive director of the college’s foundation. Greene previously led equal employment opportunity and compliance teams for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the New York City Department of Design and Construction. Golan most recently was vice president for advancement for the City University of New York Graduate Center and executive director of the Graduate Center Foundation.
