Contributed by Dawn Kemp-Kalamazoo Valley Community College
KALAMAZOO (MICH)– Kalamazoo Valley Community College has narrowed the presidential search to two candidates. Dr. Amy Fugate, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Mott Community College; and Dr. L. Marshall Washington, President of New River Community & Technical College are the finalists. The candidates will replace Marilyn Schlack who has served as the college’s first female president. Schlack joined the administration as an assistant dean in 1974 and rose to the position of executive dean/dean of instruction, before she was selected to be the college’s second president beginning in October 1982.
The Board of Trustees will interview the two finalists in an open-to-the-public forum on Tuesday, March 13, in the Board Room (Room 3365) on the Texas Township Campus.
Dr. Fugate will interview at 9 a.m., and Dr. Washington will interview at 11 a.m. For more information, contact Sandy Bohnet, Consultant to the Board of Trustees, at sbohnet@kvcc.edu.
Dr. Amy Fugate serves as the Vice President of Academic Affairs at Mott Community College according to Mott College website:
In her role at Mott, she serves as the Chief Academic Officer of the college working with all faculty and academic leadership in providing an outstanding teaching and learning environment for students. This includes curriculum in Business, Fine Arts and Social Sciences, Health Sciences, Humanities, Science and Math, and Technology. One of the important roles she serves is as the college liaison to the Higher Learning Commission, the college’s accrediting body. She also is responsible for Institutional Research, Career and Technical Education, the Library, Professional Development and Experiential Learning.
Over the course of her career, Amy has been a college faculty member, a national award winning debate coach, and a Dean of Humanities & Fine Arts. Amy earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Leadership from the University of Kansas, a Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication from Northern Michigan University.
Dr. L Marshall Washington according to the new River Community Technical College website:
Dr. L. Marshall Washington serves as the Vice President and CEO of Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) – Lancaster Campus, providing educational experiences to more than 5,000 students in the Lancaster County area. Responsibilities include leading full-time and part-time faculty and staff while managing a $26 million budget. Since his arrival at HACC-Lancaster in 2010, he has developed and established campus planning strategies resulting in a master plan for buildings and maintenance, led the successful completion of the campus accreditation process for two occupational programs: Nursing and Radiography, completed the work to acquire 73 acres of campus property, increased the campus scholarship campaign by leading a $1million campaign, facilitated the alumni relations strategic planning process to better serve alumni, and led efforts to increase enrollment and outreach with the county’s growing minority community. In addition, he is leading the college-wide strategic planning process connecting Middle States accreditation standards with college strategic priorities.
Prior to 2010, Dr. Washington served as Vice President for Student Services at Kellogg Community College (KCC). In this role, he planned, developed, administered, and evaluated Student Services functional areas to ensure student success and student development. Through leadership and teamwork, a new Learning Center for developmental education was built, a campus diversity initiative strategic plan was developed, and an Adult Education program for underemployed individuals was implemented. Each of these initiatives focused on workforce development, meeting the needs of students, bringing the community together, and emphasized excellence in the delivery of services. He led a strategic enrollment process incorporating college-wide input. He provided leadership in the Higher Learning Commission accreditation process working collaboratively with teams across the college.
He has experience writing, managing, and evaluating various state and local grant programs (Title III, Gear Up, Student Support Services, Perkins, and Upward Bound). In addition, he coordinated efforts for grant programs to assist college and pre-college programs to strengthen outreach efforts to the local community. One such initiative resulted in the W. K. Kellogg Foundation providing a $2 million endowment for future Kellogg Community College students. Philanthropic activities included collaborating with the KCC Foundation to establish the Kellogg Career Scholarship and Beyond the Tuition Fund, which directed scholarship assistance to students annually. He implemented the Learning Place and established a nontraditional approach for career programs with the establishment of the Adult Education Enhancement Initiative. He provided outreach with the Department of Veterans Affairs; and initiatives with the Prison Re-entry program. He has attained both local and national recognition for program development, evaluation, and improvement.
Through the course of his career he was an adjunct faculty member for Western Michigan University and Kellogg Community College. At Western Michigan University he taught the following courses: foundations in education and educational psychology. At Kellogg Community College, he taught the following courses: evaluation, assessment, and grant writing; individualized instruction and study skills, college reading skills; introduction to psychology; and foundations of education. He led and established the employee recognition program highlighting distinguished accomplishments of faculty, support staff, professionals, and administrators.
Dr. Washington earned a Bachelors of Arts degree in Elementary Education from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, OH; a Master of Science degree in Elementary Education from Winona State University in Winona, MN and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Studies with a specialization in Educational Leadership and Higher Education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lincoln, NE. Currently, he serves on national, state, regional, and civic boards. Some of those organizations include Boys Scouts of America, National Council on Student Development, North Museum of Natural History and Science, United Way of Lancaster-Education Solutions Council, and Leadership Lancaster.
A native of Columbus, Ohio, Dr. Washington is married to Tonja Embry Washington with three children. He is a first generation-college graduate. Over the years he has been called upon by organizations and individuals to speak and share with others. He attributes success to always being open, flexible, and collaborative in approaching challenges and opportunities.