Academic Dean

Dr. Jacqueline Edmondson is the 14th President of the University of Southern Maine. She is an accomplished educator, scholar, and first-generation college student. For nearly twenty-five years, President Edmondson has fostered a student-focused model of higher education that prioritizes lasting community collaborations and inclusive excellence.

Before coming to USM, President Edmondson was a full professor in the College of Education at Penn State University, where she has served in a number of administrative leadership roles, including, most recently, as chancellor and chief academic officer of the Greater Allegheny campus.

As a scholar, President Edmondson focuses her research on education policy, rural education, teacher education, and popular culture. In addition to publication in numerous academic journals, she has authored eight books on subjects ranging from critical policy analysis to Jesse Owens to Jerry Garcia. She holds a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from Penn State.

Dr. Robert Exley is the seventh president of Alvin Community College. Prior to ACC he served as the 17th President of Snead State Community College in Boaz, Ala., from January 2008 to August 2020. During his nearly 13-year tenure in Alabama, Dr. Exley focused on providing a compassionate campus experience for students and staff with an emphasis on academic excellence and civic engagement. His own higher education experience began at the community college level and has provided a foundation for his passion to encourage well-rounded citizens through comprehensive higher education opportunities. He also served as President of Parkland College in Champaign, Ill., and as the Vice President for Academic Affairs at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He has held a number of administrative positions with Miami-Dade College (MDC) over a nearly 10-year period.

Dr. Exley received his Associate of Arts degree from San Jacinto College in Pasadena, Texas, his BA and MS from the University of Houston-Clear Lake, and his Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin. In May 2007, Dr. Exley was named a Distinguished Graduate of the University of Texas at Austin's Community College Leadership Program in recognition of his national contribution to American Community Colleges. While a student at San Jacinto College in Pasadena, TX., he served as the 1979-1980 National President of Phi Theta Kappa. In January 2014, Phi Theta Kappa honored Dr. Exley with the prestigious Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction.

Colleen Perry Keith, Ph.D. is the14th president (and first female president) in the 136-year history of Goldey-Beacom College, assuming this role July 1, 2019. With more than 36 years of higher education experience, Dr. Keith served as president at Pfeiffer University, who moved from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division III during her tenure from 2015-2019 and at Spartanburg Methodist College, a member of the NJCAA, from 2009–2015. She currently serves on the The Partnership Board of Directors, the education affiliate of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce; the Board of Governors for the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce; the Board of Directors of Transform Mid-Atlantic, serving as the Vice Chair of the Executive Committee; and as the Vice Chair for the Division II Executive Board of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Locally, Dr. Keith serves on the board of the Wilmington Rotary Club.

Dr. Keith is also active with the Forum of Executive Women – Delaware, the Fund for Women, the Steering Committee for the Delaware Million Women Mentors and on the advisory committee for the Fresh Start Scholarship program. In 2010, she was named the South Carolina Career woman of the Year by the South Carolina Business and Professionals Woman’s Foundation and was selected as a 2022 Women in Business Honoree by Delaware Today Magazine. As a doctoral student, she was awarded the Earl W. Anderson Award for Outstanding Graduate Students by The Ohio State University, College of Education  and as a master’s student, she was inducted into Kappa Delta Pi (Education Honor Society) at the University of Pittsburgh. She is an invited speaker at many events each year, speaking to groups on the topic of leadership, women in leadership, and (of course) Goldey-Beacom College.

Dr. Keith’s career in higher education started following her work at a temporary help company in Pittsburgh in the mid-1980s. She saw the steel industry shutting down in the area, leaving many workers without jobs and without training for other work. Working with those displaced workers led to a strong commitment to help people to acquire some form of post-secondary training so that they could have economic security throughout their adult lives. That commitment led her to graduate degrees and eventually to Goldey-Beacom College, a place committed to providing post-secondary education that helps people to achieve economic security in an ever-changing world of work.

Dr. Keith holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from Binghamton University; Master of Education Degree in Education Counseling from University of Pittsburgh; and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs from The Ohio State University. She lives in Pike Creek with her husband, Barry and their two English bulldogs, Daisy and Charlie. She has one son and daughter-in-law, Tim and Anna Hogan, residents of Silver Spring, MD.

Dr. Suzy Ames is the 7th President of Peninsula College in Port Angeles, WA. Since joining the college, she was selected as Secretary of the Board for the Clallam County Economic Development Council and as a member of the Executive Board for West Sound STEM and the North Olympic Health Network. Prior to joining Peninsula College, she worked at Lake Washington Institute of Technology in Kirkland, WA as Vice President of Instruction, Associate Vice President of Instruction and Dean of Instruction. She served as the Director of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness at Skagit Valley College where she also taught marketing and social media management. Much of her background is in marketing and communications including: Vice President of Advancement/Executive Director of the Foundation at Pierce College, Director of Marketing at the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, and Director of Marketing and Communications at Cascadia College.

In her first year as President of Peninsula College, she supported the college in the development of nine associates and applied bachelor’s degrees that will start in Fall 2024. She formed relationships with community-based service providers to bring comprehensive wraparound support services to at-risk students on campus.

As an instructional administrator, Suzy served as co-Principal Investigator on three National Science Foundation grants, including one that supported equity-focused IT education at eight community and technical colleges and led to the development of a bachelor’s in computer science degree offered at these colleges. She led significant diversity, equity and inclusion efforts including the design and implementation of a diversity and social justice degree requirement for all students across transfer and professional-technical degree programs; the implementation of a cultural humility student learning outcome; and infusing DEI into the faculty tenure evaluation process.

Suzy served as Vice President and Secretary of NCIA of the National Council of Instructional Administrators. Suzy is an evaluator for the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. She holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership for Change from Fielding Graduate University, an MBA from City University, and two bachelor’s degrees in Communications and Political Science from the University of Washington. She lives in Port Angeles, WA with her husband and two chocolate labs.

Joseph Barry Hasenkopf (Barry), Chief Operating Officer, has 30 years of experience as an executive consultant across multiple industries, cultures, and geographies. A proven leader, he is committed to the growth, education, and enrichment of his clients at every level of their career. Over his career he has assisted some of the largest global professional consulting firms in the world, including Ernst & Young, Capgemini, HP, IBM, and Tata Consulting.

Mr. Hasenkopf has taught leadership, communication, and relationship skills to business students in Georgia State University, J. Mack Robinson College of Business. His academic experience includes working with professors and department chairs as an adjunct professor to prepare and deliver a successful enterprise business process curriculum within the Information Systems, Master of Science degree program.

As an executive of Myers McRae, he is committed to continuing the strategic direction and quality services that has earned the firm national recognition. The editors and analysts at Hunt Scanlon Media continue to name Myers McRae as one of the "Top 50 Education / Non-Profit Search Firms" in a special edition of Executive Search Review. The company stated the selected firms are considered the most prominent trailblazers in education and non-profit searches.

Mr. Hasenkopf holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science with a minor in mathematics and Russian from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania (now PennWest Edinboro). He received his Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in finance at the University of Pittsburgh, Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business.

Dr. Rodney Reed is the former chancellor at Indiana Wesleyan University-Marion. He also served as dean of Christian formation, university chaplain and associate professor of theology at John Brown University. 

In addition to his work at John Brown University, Reed has worked as an affiliate consultant for CREDO Higher Education Counseling since 2013 providing executive coaching for local and national non-profit organizations. As consultant or peer advisor for over two decades, he has worked in more than 30 Christian universities in the United States, Canada, Asia and Africa in the areas of spiritual formation, faculty development, curriculum, retention and human resources. 

Reed holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Sioux Falls College, a Master of Divinity from Bethel Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Philosophy in Theology from University of Bristol.

Dr. Kelly Otter is Dean of Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies (SCS). In this role, Dr. Otter oversees professional graduate programs; liberal studies programs at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels; professional certificate programs and custom education; and summer and special programs. Before coming to Georgetown in 2014, she served in academic dean roles at Northeastern University, the University of Pittsburgh, and the College of New Rochelle, and previously held positions in academic administration at New York University. She also taught at each of these institutions in the fields of media studies and interdisciplinary research. Dr. Otter’s professional portfolio comprises academic program development, the design and management of technology-mediated education infrastructures and programs, veterans support services, international education and partnerships, and adult and workforce education. Dr. Otter is a member of the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA), the International Leadership Association (ILA), and the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO).

Stephen Healey is a seasoned Higher Education leader and innovator with experience at every level of administration in a university environment. His leadership experience includes serving as faculty leader, Dean of Arts and Sciences, Associate Provost, Provost, and most recently interim President.  He has significant experience developing programs (helped to create more than 30 programs), overseeing budgets, and managing accreditation, as well as skill in career development, student recruiting, and assessment. He specializes in identifying opportunities, institutional change, and online/campus hybridization. Over the course of his academic career, he has pioneered solutions to 21st century challenges.  

Healey began his work as an educational professional by earning a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) from Boston College, focusing on the interdisciplinary intersection of theology, social sciences, philosophy, and ethics. His expertise on how social and institutional entities react to changing ideas has  informed his leadership roles over the past two decades.

Healey served as the lead negotiator of the transfer of assets from the Bridgeport Hospital School of Nursing to the University of Bridgeport. Through collaboration with other academic leaders and faculty, he has helped to create more than fifteen academic programs.

Healey earned his Ph.D. from Boston College; an M.A. Andover Newton Theological School; and a B.A., Eastern Nazarene College.

Karen H. Brown, Ph.D., MPH, CCC-SLP is Dean of the School of Education and professor at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI). The School of Education earned accreditation for seven years under Dr. Brown’s leadership. She has greater than 20 years of higher education experience and 15 years in higher education leadership. She has served as Associate Director for the University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), also at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI). Prior to her employment with UVI, Dr. Brown was a tenured associate professor at an institution for higher education (IHE) in the continental United States. She was the first black and first speech-language pathology faculty member to achieve tenure in her department and program, respectively,  where she also led that program to achieve accreditation status for seven years. Dr. Brown holds a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with a concentration in special education, a Master of Science degree in speech-language pathology, and a Master of Public Health with a concentration in social and behavioral sciences. Dr. Brown is a licensed speech-language pathologist with 30 years of experience. She continues to practice and maintains the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

Dr. Robin Kay is currently the Dean and a Full Professor in the Faculty of Education at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, Canada. Dr. Kay received his MA in Computer Applications in Education at the University of Toronto and his Ph.D. in Cognitive Science (Educational Psychology) at the University of Toronto.  He has published over 160 articles, chapters and conference papers in the area of technology in education and has taught in the field of computer science, mathematics, and educational technology for over 25 years at the high school, college, undergraduate and graduate levels.