Academic Career & Executive Search Seeking Chief External Affairs Officer for Washtenaw Community College
April 14, 2025 – Academic Career & Executive Search (ACES) has been tapped by Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, MI, to recruit the next chief external affairs officer. Jennifer Muller, managing partner, is leading the search. Reporting directly to the president, this position is responsible for the college’s overall strategy relating to government relations, brand awareness, public relations, reputation, marketing and communications. The chief external affairs officer leads the college’s comprehensive strategy for engaging with local, state, and federal government entities, as well as community-based organizations and civic leaders.
This position advances the college’s interests by fostering relationships with elected officials, governmental agencies, non-profit leaders, and key community stakeholders, advocating for policies, funding, and initiatives that support student success and community development.
The chief external affairs officer understands the attitudes and concerns of the community, residents, students, special interest groups, and business organizations and uses that information to help the college position itself as a quality, comprehensive community college meeting the needs of current and prospective students, citizens and business sectors. This position is responsible for presentations, speeches and targeted correspondence from the president’s office and positions the president/college as an educational leader through various platforms, publications and media outlets.
Washtenaw Community College, established in 1965, has grown into one of the nation’s premier community colleges with an annual enrollment of more than 18,000 students in credit classes each year, and thousands more in economic and college development classes. The diverse student body includes more than 1,000 students from 100+ foreign countries.
Based in West Hartford, CT, Academic Career & Executive Search focuses on executive search services, career planning, and candidate coaching. Specializing in challenging faculty to senior administrative positions, the firm offers six a la carte services spanning full search, candidate generation, interim, multi-hire, and contingency search. Candidate support services include webinars, career planning, and candidate coaching. Its team has served in virtually every capacity in higher education including president, vice president, provost, dean, chief human research officer, and faculty members across all types and sizes of institutions.
Ms. Muller has more than 20 years of research and development experience in higher education and Fortune 500 companies. She has led over 70 higher education searches both domestically and internationally spanning presidents, vice presidents, associate chancellors, deans, directors, chairs, and faculty level positions. Ms. Muller is former vice chair of the American Council on Education (ACE) Executive Search Roundtable and serves as an advisor in the numerous ACE leadership development forums.
Past Work
Academic Career & Executive Search recently placed John Michael Leger as chief executive officer and dean, school of nursing at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX. “Dr. Leger is well-equipped to lead our School of Nursing, having over 20 years of experience as a healthcare executive, including roles such as chief nursing officer, vice president of nursing, and hospital CEO,” said Ramona Parker, associate vice president and executive dean for the College of Health Sciences. “I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead and am confident that, under his leadership, we will continue to advance and strengthen our program.”
Dr. Leger comes to Tarleton State after spending the past 10 years at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston. In this role, he has served as a professor, track coordinator for the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) executive nurse leadership track, and the inaugural interim track coordinator for the nursing PhD program.
A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State University is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of approximately 18,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
