Editor’s note: The Leadership Ledger is a monthly roundup of some of the most noteworthy college leadership changes nationwide.
June marks the end of the year for many colleges, both fiscally and academically. During this time, institutions often make deliberate leadership changes and execute transition plans over the traditionally quiet summer months.
At least three colleges announced new leaders who would take over from former presidents who had held the position for over a decade. And one private institution appointed its first permanent leader since 2024.
But June also brought more dramatic leadership changes to one public university, kicking off public in-fighting, dueling narratives and a wave of state scrutiny.
Below, we’re rounding up some of last month’s biggest leadership changes.
President: Abagail Van Vlerah
Institution: Notre Dame of Maryland University
Coming or going? Coming
Notre Dame of Maryland University’s board on June 1 unanimously selected Abagail Van Vlerah as the Catholic institution’s next president. Van Vlerah departed Manchester University, in Indiana, where she was the vice president for student success and institutional strategy.
She assumed the presidency Monday, taking over for Marylou Yam, who led the university for 12 years. Van Vlerah said in a June statement that she aims to make the university “unapologetically mission-driven and sufficiently nimble to meet a rapidly changing world.”
Like many small, religious colleges, NDMU has struggled with declining enrollment and rising expenses. The traditionally women’s college went co-ed in 2022 and acquired a graduate health college in 2025. Both moves were made with an eye toward bolstering enrollment, with varying degrees of success so far.
President: Neil Woolf
Institution: New Mexico Highlands University
Coming or going? Going
New Mexico Highlands University’s board fired its president, Neil Woolf, on June 2 following about two hours of closed meeting discussion, Searchlight New Mexico reported. The leadership fight at the public institution began a month earlier and has only escalated since.
Trustees abruptly put Woolf on administrative leave in early May, saying it “was not a decision we made lightly” and declining to give a reason.
“We understand that many people want to know more, and we respect that,” it said in a statement to the media at the time. “At the same time, New Mexico law does not permit us to share the specific details of personnel matters.”
But in a May 27 letter to the state auditor’s office, the board outlined a laundry list of allegations against Woolf, including financial mismanagement, religious favoritism in hiring and retaliation against employees. The board wrote the 32-page letter in response to the state auditor’s inquiry, and the Santa Fe New Mexican obtained it the following month through a public records request.
On May 28, Woolf sued the board, alleging its members violated his contract and retaliated against him. The board has denied all wrongdoing.
Both parties have since accused the other of cronyism. The board told the state auditor that Woolf hired his preferred candidates by forgoing competitive processes, including by sending one applicant a hidden link. Woolf alleged in his lawsuit that the board illegally ordered him to reassign a high-value construction contract to a firm with ties to the board chair.
On July 1, a state district attorney announced his office and the office of New Mexico’s attorney general would investigate “allegations of fraud and forgery” made by the board in its letter. And the state’s auditor has launched a special probe into the university’s financial management.
The university is also facing a lawsuit from NMHU’s former athletics director over allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination. She alleges Woolf and the university’s Title IX director “laughed off” her report of offensive sexual conduct from the university’s board chair and suggested his “sexism is just part of NMHU culture.”
President: Caroline Attardo Genco
Institution: The University at Buffalo
Coming or going? Coming
The State University of New York system’s board on June 2 unanimously selected Caroline Attardo Genco to lead the University at Buffalo, effective Aug. 10. Genco served as Tufts University’s provost for four years and will be the first woman to lead UB.
Genco will take over for Satish Tripathi, who led UB for 15 years. She joins the university at a time when it is still reeling from rapid-fire changes in federal policy. UB, one of SUNY’s two flagship institutions, has faced a significant loss of international students amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on visa programs and targeting of noncitizen students. UB has also faced federal research cuts, saying in April that 70 of its grants had been impacted.
President: Anastasios Kamoutsas
Institution: Polk State College
Coming or going? Coming
Anastasios Kamoutsas departed his role as Florida commissioner of education after less than a year to lead Polk State College. The public college’s board unanimously selected Kamoutsas as Polk State’s sixth president on June 3. He assumed the role Monday.
Kamoutsas, a lawyer by trade, held several leadership positions in the Florida Department of Education before becoming commissioner in 2025. He also served as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ deputy chief of staff.
President: Susan Kazama
Institution: Hawaiʻi Community College
Coming or going? Going
Susan Kazama will retire as chancellor of Hawai’i Community College on July 31, the University of Hawai’i System announced June 5.
The system, which oversees the state’s seven community colleges, touted Kazama’s achievements during her three-year tenure at the helm of the institution, including an 8.7% increase in enrollment and the acquisition of 16 acres of land for the college’s sustainable agriculture program.
Hawai’i CC will announce its interim leader “in the weeks ahead,” according to the system.
President: Ayanna Howard
Institution: Spelman College
Coming or going? Coming
Ayanna Howard will be the next president of Spelman College, the institution’s board announced June 5. Howard will step into the role Aug. 1 and comes to the historically Black women’s college from Ohio State University, where she was the dean of the engineering college.
Spelman has been without a permanent leader since 2024, when Helene Gayle stepped down following a brief leave of absence.
President: Jonathan Becker
Institution: Bard College
Coming or going? Coming
Bard College’s trustee board on June 12 selected Jonathan Becker as its acting president. Becker, the college’s executive vice president and vice president for academic affairs, took over the interim role on July 1, the day after longtime Bard president Leon Botstein stepped down.
Botstein announced his retirement in May, shortly after an outside audit found he downplayed his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and did not fully inform Bard’s board about donations that stemmed from the convicted sex offender. It was later revealed that the board voted Botstein out of the position. Botstein, who led Bard for over five decades, will stay on at the college as a faculty member and president emeritus, the liberal arts college said last month.
Bard has hired an executive search firm to help conduct a “deliberate and inclusive search” for its next permanent leader.