It’s Official: Donal O’Shea Is Next New College President

March 22, 2012 — The Florida Board of Governors today approved Dr. Donal O’Shea of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass., as New College of Florida’s next president. His post will begin officially on July 1, 2012, following the retirement of Dr. Gordon E. “Mike” Michalson.

An internationally acclaimed mathematician, Dr. Donal O’Shea has been Dean of Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Mount Holyoke College, a top 25 ranked private liberal arts women’s college, since 1998. During his 14-year tenure as dean, he has diversified the faculty, increased external funding, introduced post-tenure review, improved leave policies, made teaching load equitable, established professional programs and shepherded creation of a fiber optic network linking the Five Colleges Consortium in western Massachusetts. He has also introduced a first-year program to support new students in their transition to college, internationalized the curriculum, formed a group of presidents and deans of women’s universities around the world, started collaborative programs among northeast liberal arts colleges for department chair development, overseen four building projects (including a $32 million science construction and renovation project) and consolidated science and arts programming and planning.
O’Shea’s appointment was approved by the New College of Florida Board of Trustees on March 10 prior to today’s Board of Governors meeting. Click here for the March 10 press release on O’Shea’s appointment by the New College Board of Trustees.
For more information, contact the New College Office of Public Affairs at 941-487-4153 or [email protected].
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