With the fall semester well underway, October saw a handful of colleges attempting to recalibrate via high-profile leadership changes.
The Utah Board of Higher Education, for instance, selected a new president at Utah State University. But because a new state law made the search a closed-door process, last month’s announcement of the board’s pick was also the first and only time the public heard who was under consideration for the position.
And in Tennessee, a struggling historically Black college is seeking to get back on track by rehiring its former chief operating officer and vice president as interim president — more than two years after she publicly resigned over frustration with the institution.
Below, we’re rounding up a selection of last month’s most significant college leadership changes.
President: Dasha Lundy
Institution: Knoxville College
Coming or going? Coming
Dasha Lundy stepped in as Knoxville College's interim president on Oct. 2 amid a volatile period for the long-beleaguered institution. She became the 150-year-old institution’s 33rd leader.
Knoxville lost its accreditation in 1997 and has not had access to federal student aid since. In 2015, the historically Black Tennessee institution also lost its state authorization over enrollment and financial issues, forcing it to close temporarily. Knoxville reopened as an online-only institution in 2018 with the goal of returning to in-person classes in the future. However, its campus has since fallen into significant disrepair.
Lundy worked as Knoxville's chief operating officer and vice president until she resigned in May 2023, citing campus safety concerns and frustration with the college's lack of progress, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported.
The private college began pursuing accreditation with the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools in August 2024, but the application was deferred after TRACS notified Knoxville of 23 compliance violations, according to WBIR. Lundy told the news outlet last month that her first priority would be addressing large outstanding debt before shifting the focus back to accreditation.
Lundy's predecessor, Rotesha Harris, left the role on July 23 after less than a year as president.
President: William Crowe
Institution: Valdosta State University
Coming or going? Coming
The University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue named William Crowe as interim president of Valdosta State University on Oct. 14. Crowe began assisting Valdosta State’s current president, Richard Carvajal, on Oct. 15 ahead of the latter’s planned departure, according to the university system.
Carvajal announced he would leave Valdosta State at the end of the fall 2025 semester to lead California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt.
Under Carvajal, the public university established the Center for South Georgia Regional Impact and an online college geared toward adult learners as a way to retain local students.
President: Eduardo Peñalver
Institution: Georgetown University
Coming or going? Coming
Eduardo Peñalver will take over as president of Georgetown University on July 1, the private Washington, D.C., institution announced Oct. 15.
By the time Peñalver takes the helm, Georgetown will have been without a permanent leader for over a year and a half. Robert Groves, a longtime provost at the Jesuit university, has served as interim president since 2024, when John DeGioia, the university's longest-serving leader, resigned due to health concerns.
Peñalver will end his tenure as president of Seattle University on March 31. That university said it aims to appoint its next permanent leader by fall 2026.
President: Alycia Marshall
Institution: Community College of Philadelphia
Coming or going? Coming
Alycia Marshall became the permanent president of the Community College of Philadelphia, the institution announced on Oct. 21. Marshall had served as the five-campus system's interim leader since April and, before that, had worked as its provost and vice president for academic and student success since 2022.
Marshall took over as head of the institution, after its trustees ousted former President Donald Guy Generals, WHYY reported. The board did not publicly give a reason for the unanimous April vote that placed Generals on administrative leave and declined to renew his contract.
Generals, who served as president of the college for 11 years, sued to be reinstated, but a judge denied his request in May. Generals and the board settled the case the following month.
President: Fletcher Lamkin
Institution: Clarke University
Coming or going? Going
Fletcher Lamkin resigned as president of Clarke University, the Iowa institution's board of trustees announced Oct. 28. Lamkin took over as Clarke’s interim president for 18 months before formally accepting the permanent position in July 2024.
Clarke's vice president for academic affairs, Yvonne Zimmerman, will take over for Lamkin while the board searches for the departing president's permanent replacement.
The news came just two days before the Catholic university announced it would eliminate 13 "under-enrolled" academic programs at the end of the 2025–2026 academic year, citing falling enrollment and rising costs. The end of those programs will cut 23 faculty jobs and at least 12 staff positions and affect about 10% of students’ academic plans.
President: Brad Mortensen
Institution: Utah State University
Coming or going? Coming
The Utah Board of Higher Education on Oct. 30 selected Brad Mortensen as Utah State University's next president. Mortensen currently leads Weber State University, another public Utah institution, and will begin his new role on Nov. 10.
Mortensen is the board's first pick for a new public college leader since March, when the Utah Legislature made the presidential selection process entirely private.
In February, Elizabeth Cantwell, Utah State's last president, abruptly announced she would depart the institution in April to lead Washington State University. Her year-and-a-half tenure — the shortest in Utah State's history — was blighted with scandals, as was her predecessor's. One Utah legislator, who sponsored the law changing the process, called the search that resulted in Cantwell's hiring a failure, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
The state higher ed board said it will soon appoint an interim president for Weber State and begin a search for Mortensen's permanent replacement.
