Vermont Tech presidential search yields two finalists

The Vermont State Colleges this week announced the selection of two finalists for the position of president of Vermont Technical College. The names of the candidates were sent to the Board of Trustees by its presidential search committee following interviews with four candidates during the week of November 15. The two finalists sent to the Board of Trustees are Dr Kathleen Nelson, former president and President Emeritus of Lake Superior College in Duluth, Minnesota; and Dr Philip Conroy, Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing at Mount Ida College in Newton, Massachusetts.
The trustees will interview the finalists and consider a selection at their regular meeting on December 9th.
Forty-seven applicants from around the country applied for the position following a national search that was begun last June when former president Ty Handy took on the presidency of Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, FL. Members of a board-appointed search committee that included faculty, staff, students, trustees, and VSC Chancellor Tim Donovan narrowed that list first to eleven, then to four semi-finalists by early November. All four semi-finalists were then invited to campus for interviews, which concluded last week.
Dr. Nelson served for 13 years as president of Lake Superior College, a comprehensive community and technical college serving approximately 4,500 students in both urban and rural communities. During her tenure at Lake Superior she was twice recognized as President of the Year by the Minnesota State College Student Association.
Dr. Nelson was also the recipient of the Lake Superior College Student Senate Lifetime Achievement Award and the City of Duluth’s coveted Sam Solon Legislative Leadership Award. From 1995-1997 Dr. Nelson served as the Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of the Laurentian Community and Technical College District, and she was Interim Vice President at the Arrowhead Community College Region from 1994-1995.
Lake Superior is part of the Minnesota State College system, which is comprised of 32 colleges spread over 54 campuses.
Dr. Conroy is currently Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing at Mount Ida College, responsible for admissions, financial aid, marketing, publications, the web site, public relations, and retention related activities. He has served in this capacity since 2003. Prior to taking on his current role, Conroy served for six years as Vice President for Institutional Advancement.
Before joining Mount Ida in 1997, Conroy served as the Director of Development for the College of Food and Natural Resources at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and as Director of Development and founding Executive Director of the Bridgewater State College Foundation, where he also served as a faculty member, financial aid officer, and alumni relations director.
Mount Ida is similar in size to Vermont Tech with approximately 1500 full- and part-time students, 60 percent of whom live on campus. The college is comprised of five separate schools specializing in animal science, business, design, and the arts and sciences. It also offers a Master of Science (MSM) degree program in management.
‘The search committee was very pleased with the quality of applications for the position,’ commented Search Committee chair and trustee Martha O’Connor. ‘In particular, we are pleased to send these two excellent candidates for consideration by the Board of Trustees.’