Ann Gansemer-Topf was recently named as the Director of Iowa State University School of Education and Frances S. and Arthur L. Wallace Professor in the College of Human Sciences. This announcement follows a comprehensive national search led by Martin Baker and Pelema Ellis.

A successful leader and nationally recognized scholar, Dr. Gansemer-Topf will oversee all facets of Iowa State’s nationally known School of Education. Robust undergraduate programs prepare hundreds of future teachers, master’s and Ph.D. programs educate leaders at all levels of the education system and high-impact research contributes to national conversations on education and improved student outcomes.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Loras College, a master’s degree in professional studies-higher education from Iowa State University and a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Iowa State University. Currently, she is the director of graduate education and a professor in Iowa State’s School of Education as well as a faculty affiliate in the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. 

For more information visit https://hs.iastate.edu/. 

Jeffrey Bardzell was named Dean of School of Information and Library Science (SILS) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill following a comprehensive search led by Martin Baker, Partner, of our Higher Education Practice.

Bardzell is a well-established interdisciplinary researcher in human-computer interaction and design, with more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and an academic career that spans humanities, design computing and social science. His research has focused on creativity, criticality and design thinking; aesthetic interaction and experience design; social informatics and participatory design; and AI and more-than-human design.

He was previously the Associate Dean for Faculty and Graduate Affairs in the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State University, where he worked with approximately 75 full-time faculty and supported more than 2,000 combined undergraduate and graduate students.  

Ranked the No. 2 information and library science program by U.S. News and World Report, SILS is a global leader in digital curation, health informatics, information interaction and retrieval, social informatics and librarianship of the 21st century.

For more information visit www.unc.edu.

Dr. Tracy Mulvaney was recently appointed as the Dean of the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.  

With three decades of educational experience spanning K-12 to higher education, she has served as an associate professor in the Department of Educational Counseling and Leadership and as Assistant Dean and acting Dean of the School of Education at Monmouth University in New Jersey. Much of her early career was spent in the classrooms of the Arizona public school system where she served in various roles including as a special education teacher, department chair, principal and district director of alternative programs. She also taught in the Pinal County (Ariz.) community college system in a historic HSI (Hispanic Serving Institute).

Dr. Mulvaney holds a doctorate in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University. She earned both her master’s degree in special education and her bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation/special education at the University of Arizona.

For more information visit www.uncp.edu/.

Michael D. Bourgeois, Ph.D., was recently named Vice Provost of Institutional Research & Decision support at Virginia Commonwealth University, following a comprehensive search led by Pelema Ellis and Martin Baker of our Higher Education Practice. 

Dr. Bourgeois brings over 20 years of higher education experience and a passion for student and institutional success with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. He most recently worked at Purdue University Northwest where he was hired in 2019 to serve as the university’s first executive director of Institutional Research and chief data strategist. In the summer of 2021, he was elevated to the title of assistant vice chancellor of Institutional Effectiveness and Data Strategy where his role was expanded to align strategic planning and implementation of data-informed decision making across the university.

He is also the president of the board of directors for the Association of Higher Education Effectiveness, a network of higher education professionals who work or lead offices that integrate multiple functions to promote and support evidence-based planning and improvement.

Before joining Purdue, Dr. Bourgeois worked for five years, beginning in 2014, at California State University – Channel Islands where he rose from the title of director of Institutional Effectiveness to become the executive director of Institutional Research, Planning and Effectiveness. He also spent six months as the interim executive director of Institutional Effectivensss and Decision-Support at California State University, Chico.

Dr. Bourgeois earned his doctorate and master’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his bachelor’s degree from Texas State University.

For more information visit https://blogs.vcu.edu/provost/2023/08/15/new-irds-leadership/.

Dr. John Fuchko III has been appointed as  President at Dalton State College. Buffkin / Baker was proud to partner with the College on this comprehensive search led by Ann Yates and Dinah Webster DeWitt from our Higher Education Practice.

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (USG) today named Dr. John Fuchko III president of Dalton State College effective Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.

Dr. Fuchko currently serves as Dalton’s interim president, assuming the position at Dalton State in June, when Dr. Margaret H. Venable retired after eight years. Prior to the 2022-2023 academic year, Fuchko was interim president at Columbus State University, where he led an effort to address a projected $9 million budget reduction and helped champion a focus on student retention that resulted in an almost 5% retention rate increase from Fall 2021 to Fall 2022.

Dr. Fuchko has taken on leadership roles in multiple organizational areas during his 17 years with USG, including service as vice chancellor for organizational effectiveness, overseeing strategic implementation, accreditation, athletics, ethics and risk and various other administrative functions.

As a decorated colonel in the Georgia Army National Guard, Fuchko commands the 122nd Regiment (Regional Training Institute). His two decades of service have included roles such as battalion commander for the 221st Expeditionary Military Intelligence Battalion and two deployments to the Middle East.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Kennesaw State University. He earned an MBA at Georgia State University, a master’s degree in strategic intelligence at the National Intelligence University, a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College and a doctorate in education at the University of Georgia.  

Learn more at https://www.daltonstate.edu/about/news.cms/2023/684/dr–john-fuchko-iii-named-president-of-dalton-state-college

Kotaro Nakamura on recently being named the Chair of the Iowa State University Department of Interior Design. This announcement comes following an international search led by Martin Baker and Pelema Ellis of our Higher Education Practice.

A licensed architect in California and a LEED Accredited Professional, Nakamura has won multiple awards from the American Institute of Architects, AIA San Diego, Concrete Masonry Association of California and Nevada, Center for Sustainable Energy and American Public Works Association San Diego and Imperial Counties Chapter.

Nakamura has lectured and published widely on topics such as disaster recovery design, Japanese aesthetics and sustainable architecture and design. His professional design work includes master plans for research labs, administrative buildings and housing projects, among others, and has been featured in various design exhibitions.

He has significant experience in residential, retail, commercial, medical and institutional interior design, with projects completed for Benetton; YWCA San Diego; UC San Diego Medical Center; the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California; California School for the Deaf, Riverside; San Diego County government offices and a variety of residences.

Learn more here.