Anthem Executive Recruits Provost for Western Oregon University
July 27, 2023 – Executive recruitment firm Anthem Executive has assisted in the recruitment of Jose Coll as the new provost and vice president of academic affairs of Western Oregon University. Michael Ballew, Scott Watson, and Florene Stawowy led the assignment. “Dr. Coll’s experiences in higher education leadership have prepared him perfectly to take the helm as provost at Western,” said Jesse Peters, president of Western Oregon University. “But more than that, he is student-focused and collaborative, making him a strong partner in this community as we strengthen and improve our institution. We look forward to him joining the leadership team at our university. Welcome to Western Oregon, Dr. Coll.”
Dr. Coll was most recently dean of the School of Social Work and interim dean of the College of Education at Portland State University and has held administrative and faculty positions at Texas State University, University of Southern California, and Saint Leo University. His research interests have been predominantly on worldview development and veteran transition. He is the author and co-editor of numerous publications, including The Counselor’s Primer for Counseling Veterans, The Handbook of Military Social Work, Student Veterans in Higher Education: A Primer for Administrators, and Civilian Lives of U.S. Veterans: Issues and Identities.
As the university’s chief academic officer, and reporting directly to the president, Dr. Coll will have oversight responsibility for academic affairs, which includes all colleges, Hamersly Library, graduate programs, the Sponsored Projects Office, the Research Institute, international programs, academic advising, and the registrar. He will also work closely with Western Oregon University’s board of trustees, which has a standing academic and student affairs committee. The committee considers matters pertaining to the teaching, research, and public service programs of the university, as well as matters related to accreditation, educational policies, and academic integrity and excellence.
“I am humbled at the opportunity to work alongside president Peters, faculty, staff, and students to continue the legacy of Oregon’s oldest public university,” Dr. Coll said. “As provost of Western Oregon University, I look forward to elevating and celebrating the accomplishments of our collective community while promoting academic excellence and innovation. I wish to thank the search committee for their service and look forward to meeting and working with the Western Oregon University community. Go Wolves!”
Western Oregon University is a public university in Monmouth, OR. It was originally established in 1856 by Disciples of Christ pioneers as Monmouth University. The university offers more than 50 undergraduate majors, an honors program, 10 graduate programs, and a variety of graduate specializations, endorsements, and certificates.
Seasoned Recruiters
Anthem Executive, headquartered in Houston, TX, serves clients across a range of business sectors, including higher education, health sciences, corporate and non-profit institutions, global software and technology, private equity, insurance, service and manufacturing, oil and gas, and others. Its consultants bring a combined 80 years’ experience in the search industry. The firm’s higher education practice spans the entire leadership spectrum. In other sectors, Anthem Executive covers all roles from CEO and other C-suite leaders, board directors, vice president, and director, among others.
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Mr. Ballew, a registered Native American and member of the Echota Cherokee Tribe, serves as the firm’s chief diversity, inclusion, equity, and compliance officer, as well as search committee facilitator. He joined the executive search industry 14 years ago following a 20-plus year career in senior-level management with expertise in recruiting, counseling, training, operations, strategic planning, facilitation, project management, and workplace diversity.
Anthem Executive Recruits CFO for Wayne State University
Anthem Executive has placed David Massaron, budget director for the State of Michigan, as chief business officer and CFO/senior vice president for finance and business operations and treasurer for Wayne State University in Detroit. Mr. Massaron will assume his new role upon the completion of the fiscal year 2022 budget for the state. Leading the assignment were Michael Ballew, Scott Watson, and Mike “JR” Wheless, co-founders, principals and consultants, along with Leyla Kayi, research and search operations, higher education. Mr. Massaron succeeds Rebecca Cooke, who came out of retirement to serve in the position on an interim basis. Ms. Cooke previously served as associate vice president for finance and administration, health affairs, as well as vice dean, finance, for the School of Medicine. She replaced William Decatur, who retired at the end of 2019.
Mr. Watson has been in the executive search industry for over 30 years. In addition to higher education institutions, he has served hospital/health systems, global software and technology companies, private equity enterprises, MCOs, insurance companies, service and manufacturing organizations with global footprints, and others.
Ms. Stawowy, who has been in executive search for over 20 years, is a core member of the higher education and academic health practice. Over the last two decades, she has developed deep expertise in senior‐level search, having been charged with numerous executive leadership transitions with a particular emphasis on higher education and academic health search.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
