Framingham State Names 3 Finalists for Next University President

• F. Javier Cevallos, PhD, President of Kutztown University
• Soraya M. Coley, PhD, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, California State University at Bakersfield
• Katherine S. Conway-Turner, PhD, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Hood College.  

Professional backgrounds of the three finalists for President of Framingham State University include:  

Dr. Javier Cevallos has been President of Kutztown University since 2002. He began his career in education in 1981 as an assistant professor of Spanish at the University of Maine at Orono. In 1984 he moved to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he was promoted to associate professor in 1988 and full professor in 1992. He would later serve as the chair of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez and a master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His area of research is Latin American literature, with particular emphasis in the Colonial era.  

Dr. Soraya Coley has more than 30 years in academic and administrative roles in different university settings. She is currently the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at California State University, Bakersfield, where she also assumed an interim appointment as the Vice President for University Advancement. For two years he served as the founding Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Alliant International University. Prior to that position, she was dean of the College of Human Development and Community Service at California State University Fullerton. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Lincoln University. Her master’s and doctoral degrees in Social Planning and Policy were completed at Bryn Mawr College’s School of Social Work and Social Research.  

Dr. Katherine Conway-Turner began her teaching career at Santa Clara University in the Department of Psychology. Prior to joining Hood College, Dr. Conway-Turner was Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at SUNY Geneseo and Professor of Psychology. Additionally, she was the Dean of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at Georgia Southern University and before that spent fifteen years at the University of Delaware as professor in the Department of Psychology and the Department of Individual and Family Studies, while holding several administrative posts including director of women’s studies, department chair, and associate dean of arts and sciences. She has a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology and master’s and doctoral degrees in Psychology, all from the University of Kansas.  

A search to replace Dr. Timothy J. Flanagan, who accepted the presidency at Illinois State University in May, commenced in July, with first round interviews taking place in October and November.

Dr. Robert A. Martin, former FSU Vice President of Academic Affairs, is serving as interim president until a new President is hired and takes over.  

Finalists were selected by a 13-member Presidential Search Committee. The search was facilitated by the Witt/Kieffer consulting firm, which reviewed all applicants to make sure they met minimum qualifications.

A group of 84 applicants was forwarded to the committee, which selected 10 to interview.  

Richard C. Logan, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees and Chair of Framingham State’s Presidential Search Committee, said he is very pleased with the pool of finalists. “There was a high level of interest in the position, which helped us come up with a diverse and strong group of finalists,” Logan said. “We look forward to welcoming each of them to campus in the coming weeks to meet with our students, faculty and staff to share their visions for the future of this University. I would like to thank every member of the Presidential Search Committee for committing their time and talents to this important search.”  

Candidate interviews will be conducted in December, which includes opportunities for the community to meet the candidates.

The full schedule of campus visits, a brief biography and picture of each finalist are available at http://www.framingham.edu/presidents-office/presidential-search/index.html.  

The Board of Trustees is expected to recommend its selection of a new president to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education by the end of the year.