ESCANABA & IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich. (WZMQ) – Bay College’s Board of Trustees approved its selection for the college’s next president.
Dr. Nerita Hughes of Minnetonka, Minnesota will become the next president of Bay College on July 10, following President Dr. Laura Coleman’s retirement on June 30.
According to Bay College, Dr. Hughes has served as the Interim Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and Workforce Innovation and the Dean for the School of Business, Careers, Education and Workforce Innovation at North Hennepin Community College. She also has expertise in public and private sector to higher education, including experience as a part-time faculty instructor for the Human Resources Program at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and Business and Careers Programs for Minnesota State.
Dr. Hughes holds a Masters of Business Administration and a Doctorate of Education in Leadership from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Science from National American University.
In addition to her academic background, Board Chair Joy Hopkins says Dr. Hughes stood out from the other candidates due to her focus on strengthening the college’s relationship with the community.
“She’s very strong in workforce development, which our community members strongly desire more opportunities in that regard,” Hopkins said. “And she used some great phrasing that we loved. She called it ‘the community’s college,’ and that’s exactly how we think of Bay. It is the community’s college.”
The Board of Trustees unanimously came to its decision after six months of searching, leading to on-campus interviews with the four finalists during the last week of April.
Dr. Hughes says she is looking forward to working with faculty and staff on furthering the college’s mission of “student, community, and cultural success,” increasing enrollment, and learning what is important to them.
“Within the first few months and first year, a lot of it’s going to be listening to the community, listening to the employees to hear what their ideation and thoughts are, and then moving forward from there,” Dr. Hughes told WZMQ 19 News.
Dr. Hughes says she feels blessed to have the opportunity to become part of the Bay College Community.
“I’m very excited to meet each and every one of them,” she said. “To those that are graduating, keep soaring. And go, Bay, go!”
As the campus community looks ahead to graduation on May 6, Hopkins hopes students, faculty, and staff can breathe a sigh of relief knowing the transition from Dr. Coleman to Dr. Hughes will be a smooth one.
