3 Finalists For President of Bd of Regents For Higher Ed

Just in from the agency that oversees the state’s state universities and community colleges:

HARTFORD, CT) The Search Committee of the Board of Regents for Higher Education today announced three finalists for the position of president after a nationwide, months-long search. The finalists announced today are Dr. Jack R.Warner, CEO, South Dakota Board of Regents; Dr. Gregory Gray, Chancellor, Riverside Community College District; and Dr. Jay Kahn, Interim President, Keene State College. 

“We received applications from 29 highly qualified candidates, but these three were clearly the most outstanding,” said Lewis J. Robinson, Board of Regents Chair and chair of the Regents Search Committee.

The search has been conducted by two committees – the Regents Search Committee and a systemwide advisory committee composed of faculty, staff, students, alumni and representation from the business community. The process has been guided by a national search firm.

“The input of the Systemwide Advisory Committee throughout this process has been outstanding, and the caliber of the finalists is a reflection of their hard work and the tremendous potential of the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (ConnSCU),” said Robinson.

The Board of Regents Search Committee plans to present its recommendations to the full Board of Regents on April 4 prior to transmitting to Governor Malloy for his consideration and subsequent appointment.

Dr. Jack R. Warner is executive director and chief executive officer of the South Dakota Board of Regents. The Board of Regents is the constitutional governing board for the six public universities, the school for the deaf, and the school for the blind and visually impaired in South Dakota.  Dr. Warner previously was commissioner of the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education from 2002-2009, where he was responsible for governance and policy oversight of Rhode Island’s public system of higher education, consisting of the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and the Community College of Rhode Island. He was associate chancellor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Before that, he spent nearly five years as vice chancellor of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, the state coordinating board for 15 community colleges, nine state colleges, and five campuses of the University of Massachusetts.  Dr. Warner spent 17 years as dean of student affairs at Bristol Community College in Fall River, Mass. He is a past president of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and a former member of the New England Student Affairs Think Tank. He taught in the Boston College Graduate School of Education for 18 years.

Dr. Warner holds the following academic degrees: Doctor of Education in Educational Administration from Boston College; Master of Education in Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education from Springfield College; Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Vermont.

Dr. Gregory W. Gray, Ed.D., became chancellor of the Riverside Community College District on July 1, 2009. A recognized higher education leader, Dr. Gray joined RCCD after serving as president of Miami Dade College’s Kendall Campus.

Early in his chancellorship, Dr. Gray identified education-workforce preparation initiatives, private fundraising and institutional development, and leadership as his major areas of interest.

Upon his arrival at RCCD, Dr. Gray established the Chancellor’s Circle on Innovation, consisting of highly respected leaders within the region and industry. This group of fifty prominent members provides insight and leadership for the support and advancement of the District and its mission. Dr. Gray also established the first study abroad program to China by a community college nationwide which was launched March 2011. Also launched in the winter of 2011 was the first leadership academy for district and college employees, faculty, and students to cultivate and advance leadership within our own ranks.

Dr. Gray holds a bachelor in science from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in Education from the University of Pittsburgh, and a doctorate in Education from Penn State University.

Dr. Jay V. Kahn was appointed Interim President of Keene State College in 2012.  Prior to that, Dr. Kahn served as Vice President for Finance and Planning of Keene State College in New Hampshire since 1988. Prior to joining Keene State, he was the Associate Vice President for Administration and Planning at Governors State University, University Park, Illinois, where he worked from 1978 to 1988, and from 1973 to 1978 with the Illinois Board of Higher Education, last as Assistant Director for Academic Affairs. Dr. Kahn received a B.A. degree from Northern Illinois University and Ph.D. in Political Science — Policy Studies from the University of Illinois-Chicago. Nationally, he serves as an at-large director on the Society for College and University Planning Board of Directors. Locally, he serves as Chairman of the Cheshire Medical Center Board of Trustees. Previously he chaired the Board of the Greater Keene Chamber of Commerce and the Monadnock Economic Development Corporation. At the state level, he serves on the Workforce Initiatives Board.