WESTFIELD – Last night, Westfield State University’s board of trustees took the first step in officially putting the Evan Dobelle era behind them by appointing trustees Steven Marcus and Tirrell Hill to serve on the board’s Presidential Search Committee as chair and vice chair, respectively.
Marcus and Hill were selected following a motion put forth by the board’s vice chair, the Hon. Elizabeth Scheibel, and will return to the board with their recommendations at the next board meeting on June 26, aided by guidelines from the Commonwealth’s Department of Higher Education.
Following the meeting, Hill, a 1992 graduate of then-Westfield State College and current principal of High School, Inc. in Windsor, Conn., deferred comment to committee chair Marcus, the President/CEO of New England Geriatrics and a 1988 Westfield State grad.
“I believe we’re going to make a great team,” Marcus said of working with Hill. “His experience as an educator, a principal and a headmaster, and mine as a CEO and president, will help us come together to find the best candidates.”
Marcus added that he is both “psyched” and “honored” to have the opportunity to be such a crucial part of the selection process.
“Our next leader will bring us to where we need to go,” he said. “This is a great institution, and we will pick the best leader for it. It’s going to be exciting.”
Westfield State’s Vice President for Academic Affairs Elizabeth Preston is currently serving as interim president until a permanent replacement is found.
The next board meeting will also mark the final meeting for board chair John Flynn III and student trustee Stone Koury.
The board also received word yesterday of the resignations of trustees Christel Ford-Berry and Joseph Carvalho, who cited health concerns and personal business endeavors as reasons for his departure.
