BEMIDJI, Minn. (April 7, 2010) — Dr. Betsy Vogel Boze, senior fellow at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities; Dr. Jason A. Laker, associate vice principal and dean of student affairs at Queen’s University (Ontario, Canada); and Dr. Philip C. Williams, president of the University of Montevallo (Montevallo, Ala.), have been announced as the final group of semifinalists for the presidency at Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College.
Two semifinalists for the position were announced earlier, bringing the total to five.
Vogel Boze’s on-campus interview is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, April 12-13. Laker will be on campus Thursday and Friday, April 15-16, and Williams will visit Monday and Tuesday, April 19-20.
The three candidates will participate in a public forum entitled “Higher Education at a Crossroads” during the first day of their visits. The candidates will offer a 20-minute presentation and then answer questions. All forums will be held from 2:15-3:00 p.m. in Bridgeman Hall 100 on the Bemidji State campus.
• Dr. Betsy Vogel Boze
Dr. Betsy Vogel Boze is currently a senior partner at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, providing policy analysis and leadership on the future of higher education in the United States. To fill this role, she is on leave from her position as campus dean and chief executive officer at Kent State University Stark, a position she has held since 2005. From 1994-2005, she was dean of the business school at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College. She also served as chief academic officer at the University of Texas Telecampus MBA Online from 1996-2005. Vogel Boze served as assistant to the president at Tulane University from 2003-04 as part of an American Council on Education fellowship. Additionally, she was chair of the business administration department at the University of Alaska Anchorage from 1989-94.
Vogel Boze earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1974 and master’s degree in business administration in 1975, both from Southern Methodist University. She earned a doctorate in business administration at the University of Arkansas in 1983.
• Dr. Jason A. Laker
Dr. Jason A. Laker has been associate vice principal (similar in position to an associate vice president) and dean of student affairs at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada since July, 2006. Prior to that, Laker was dean of campus life at St. John’s (Minn.) University from 2002-06, and was at the University of Arizona from 1998-2002. There, he was assistant director of residence life from 1998-2000, manager of professional programs and conference services from 2000-01, and director of business programs and workforce development from 2001-02. Laker was complex coordinator for five residence halls at the University of Delaware from 1995-98 and was residence hall director and residence director for education/family housing manager at Fort Lewis (Colo.) College from 1992-95.
Laker earned his bachelor’s degree in interpersonal and public communication at Central Michigan University and a master’s degree in community counseling at Adams State (Colo.) College. He holds a doctorate in higher education administration and organization from the University of Arizona.
• Dr. Philip C. Williams
Dr. Philip C. Williams is the president of the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Ala., a position he has held since 2006. Previously, he was vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college at Methodist (N.C.) College from 2003-06 and served as assistant vice president for academic affairs at Gardner-Webb University from 1999-2002. Williams was an Association of Schools of Public Health fellow with the National Standards Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Practice Program Office from 1998-99.
Williams earned a bachelor’s degree in history at the University of North Carolina in 1974 and a juris doctorate from the Columbia University School of Law in 1977. He earned a master’s degree in publich health at North Carolina in 1995 and a doctorate in health policy and administration from North Carolina in 1998.
For information on the Bemidji State University/Northwest Technical College presidential search, please visit http://www.bemidjistate.edu/president_search.