Interim CEO

J. Bonnie Newman will serve as interim chancellor of the Community College System of New Hampshire, effective
Aug. 15. Newman has served in the administrations of two U.S. presidents, is a former chief of staff to former U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg and has served as interim president of the University of New Hampshire. Among her achievements are serving as executive dean at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Appointments

Anne Kress, president of Monroe Community College (MCC) in New York, was named to the new, 21-member Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo launched the council—which includes the presidents of the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology, as well as the CEO of Wegman’s Food Markets—this week at MCC.

Larry Litecky has been named interim vice chancellor for academic and student affairs at the Minnesota State College and Universities System, effective Aug. 1. Litecky, who retired June 30 as president of Century College (Minnesota), was also named president emeritus of Century, where he served as CEO since 2000.

JoAnn Zahn will serve as vice president of finance and operations at Clatsop Community College (Oregon), effective Aug. 1. Zahn has served in various capacities at Mount Hood Community College (Oregon) since 1990, most recently as director of its budget office and auxiliary services. She also previoulsy acted as interim vice president for administrative services at the college.

Lianna Zhao is now as dean of mathematics, sciences and engineering at Irvine Valley College (IVC) in California. Zhao has more than 20 years of full-time postsecondary teaching experience, including 14 at IVC, where she previously served as director for a Title V-funded cooperative project.

Kudos

Johnny Sessums, director of the Public Safety Institute at Houston Community College (Texas), has been honored by the Texas House of Representatives for his outstanding service and exemplary efforts in maintaining the highest standards in educating public service workers. The former Houston police officer has served as director of the institute for 23 years.

Yilin Sun, a faculty member in basic and transitional studies at South Seattle Community College (Washington), has been named a Fulbright Senior Scholar for the 2011-12 academic year. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership in their fields. Sun will spend the year in Taiwan, where she will, in part, coordinate and provide weekly training workshops for young Fulbright English teaching assistants.