The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) Board of Trustees has selected Dr. Yolanda Wilson as the college’s sixth president following an extensive nationwide search. The board voted unanimously in support of Wilson’s appointment during a public meeting held Nov. 3. Wilson will become the first African-American president to lead the college in its 64-year-history.
College of Southern Maryland (CSM) President Dr. Maureen Murphy formally announced on Thursday April 21, 2022, that she will retire from CSM Dec. 31, 2022. Earlier, she took time to share the story of her own educational journey as well as some thoughts about her 35-year career drawing to an end as the fifth president of Southern Maryland’s nationally recognized community college – time she describes as “the best part of her career."
With the retirement of President Maureen Murphy on December 31, 2022, the College of Southern Maryland Board of Trustees is seeking confidential nominations and expressions of interest for the college’s next president.
The next candidate will be a visionary, humanistic, and compassionate leader who is passionate about leading a student-centered institution and ensuring student equity and success. The new president will maintain a national level of higher education involvement and be well-versed in local, national, and global trends with an understanding of how the changing landscape of higher education shapes the student and the community college experience. The new president will be someone who understands diversity and the skills needed to navigate dynamic demographic and socioeconomic changes to the local community and constituents the college serves. The new president will lead the institution by honoring and building on past achievements, setting a vision for the future that enhances and manages opportunities for innovation and growth as the college continues to provide quality educational programs and services for residents and partners in the tri-county region that makes up Southern Maryland.
After an extensive nationwide search, the search committee has selected three finalists for the position of CSM’s sixth president.
Dr. Tony D. Hawkins, Ph.D. is currently the provost/executive vice president of Academic Affairs, Continuing Education, and Workforce Development at Frederick Community College in Maryland. Prior to assuming this assignment, he was the college-wide dean of Humanities at Montgomery College in Maryland, with oversight of a division that included course offerings in History, Political Science, World Languages, Philosophy, American Sign Language, Women's and Gender studies and two learning centers. He has performed other administrative assignments as a campus dean of Art, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus of Montgomery College and associate dean of English and Humanities at Hudson County Community College in Jersey City, N.J. Hawkins held the faculty rank of associate professor of Speech Communication and Theater at Prince George's Community College, teaching courses in Human Communication, Theater, and Radio, Television, and Film production.
Born and raised in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Hawkins earned his bachelor's degree from Towson State University, his master's from University of Georgia, Certificate of Advanced Study from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, and Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from New York University.
His research interests include exploring the relationships between community colleges and their secondary school partners, issues of access and equity, and the impact of education policy on urban community colleges. He has presented on closing the achievement gap, the connection between student and academic affairs, and classroom assessment practices. He is also a certified workshop leader in Facilitative Leadership by Interactive Associates.
Hawkins is a member of the American Association of Community Colleges and has chaired the Maryland Council of Community College Chief Academic Officers (M4CAOs). He is a recipient of the 1999 K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award from the American Association for Higher Education and the 2013 On Their Shoulders We Stand Award from Montgomery College. He is also a proud member of the Actors' Equity Association with numerous theatrical productions to his credit.
Dr. Naydeen González-De Jesús harnesses a unique blend of international public diplomacy, research and higher education experience to drive sustainable change management as Executive Vice President of Student Success at Milwaukee Area Technical College. In addition to bringing together academic and student affairs in a collective bargaining environment rooted in shared governance, she oversees the vice presidents of Enrollment Management, Learning, and Retention and Completion, as well as the executive directors of the regional campuses. Believing in the power of education as the greatest equalizer, she plays a vital role in the college's commitment to the nationally recognized Guided Pathways framework to accelerate student success.
Having served as Public Diplomacy Officer for the U.S. Embassy in Argentina, she helped liaise an Education Memorandum of Understanding during the 2018 G20 World Summit thus expanding Fulbright participation and collegiate partnerships between the two countries. As an Achieving the Dream institutional champion at Bergen Community College, she conceptualized the Bellwether award-nominated Project Graduation securing the state's No. 1 ranking for associate degree graduates. At Rowan College of Burlington County, she helped advance academic offerings at the Joint Military Base Campus and led the district's academic advising and transfer services, special populations, and the Educational Opportunity Fund division.
A first-generation college graduate, González-De Jesús is an Aspen Rising Presidents Fellow and a National Community College Hispanic Council Fellow. She holds a doctorate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Northcentral University in Arizona, a master's degree in Student Personnel Services from Rowan University in New Jersey, and a bachelor's degree from The Pennsylvania State University.
Dr. Yolanda Wilson currently serves as the vice president of Instruction, Ashe Campus and Alleghany Center at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, and is a Leadership Coach for Achieving the Dream. She has worked in the North Carolina and South Carolina Community College Systems for more than 22 years, beginning her career as an adjunct faculty member before moving into more progressive leadership roles in both academic affairs, student services, and campus operations. Her work in higher education has centered on creating a student ready college culture, mitigating institutional barriers to access, retention, and completion, and strategically focusing on programming and policies that support all students to success.
Wilson has completed the 2019-2020 Aspen Rising President's Fellowship program, received the Phi Theta Kappa Distinguished College Administrator's Awards – both internationally and within the Carolinas, and was recognized as the South Carolina Technical Education Association Administrator of the Year at York Technical College. She serves on the Aspen Institute Alumni Advisory Council, the Wilkes Community Foundation Board, and three North Carolina Community College System committees: the Curriculum Committee, the Transfer Advisory Committee, and the Developmental Education Advisory Council. She is the board secretary and Region 2 director for the American Association for Women in Community Colleges and chairs reaffirmation visits for the Southern Association for Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
Wilson earned her bachelor’s degree in English Education and her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Maryland, College Park, and her Ed.D. in Adult and Community College Education from North Carolina State University. She is blessed to be married to her best friend, Dale, and they have three sons: Bryan, Brandon, and Braxton.
CSM’s Board of Trustees has selected RH Perry & Associates to conduct the search for its next president. The Board seeks confidential nominations and expressions of interest for the College’s sixth president. The successful candidate will build upon the accomplishments the College made under the leadership of Dr. Murphy and lead the institution to greater heights as it continues to provide quality educational programs and services to the residents of Southern Maryland.
This site will be updated as more information becomes available.
RH Perry & Associates is committed to the highest standards of professionalism in all dealings with candidates, sources, and references. We fully respect the need for confidentiality and assure interested parties that their background and interests will not be discussed without their consent.
Please send inquiries to: CSMPresident@rhperry.com
For more information please contact:
Gena Glickman, PhD
Senior Consultant
RH Perry & Associates
847-313-5520
gglickman@rhperry.com
Paul G. Doeg
President & Chief Operating Officer
RH Perry & Associates
406-220-2129
pauldoeg@rhperry.com
Larisa Pfeiffer
Chief of Staff, Office of the President
College of Southern Maryland
301-934-7627
ljpfeiffer@csmd.edu
Phase 1 (Spring 2022): Pre-search Assessment. The search firm will work with the Board of Trustees and the college community to develop a profile. The Board will also appoint a search committee during this phase.
Phase 2 (Summer 2022): Recruitment of Candidates.
Phase 3 (Fall 2022): Selection and Evaluation of Candidates. The search committee will interview semi-finalists and recommend final candidates to the Board of Trustees.
Phase 4 (Fall 2022): Finalist interviews. This is when the entire college community has the opportunity to meet the candidates in person and give feedback to the Board.
Phase 5 (Fall 2022): Appointment. The Board of Trustees will select and appoint a new president, who will begin in January 2023.