State board confirms Linda Thompson as Westfield State University president
Updated 1:19 PM;
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BOSTON The state Board of Higher Education has approved Linda Thompson’s appointment as the new president of Westfield State University.
State approval is normally a formality, though the board retains right of final approval. Thompson will begin her tenure as the 182-year-old university’s 21st president on July 1.
She will succeed Roy Saigo, who served as interim president through the 2020–21 academic year, following Ramon Torrecilha’s retirement in 2020.
Final approval came on May 18, three weeks after the university’s board of trustees chose Thompson from a list of five final candidates.
Linda Thompson, next president of Westfield State University, called ‘visionary’ by trustees
Updated Apr 28, 2021;
Posted Apr 28, 2021
Linda Thompson, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at University of Massachusetts Boston, has been chosen as the next president of Westfield State University.
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WESTFIELD This is the time of year when college administrative jobs across the United States are filled, so Westfield State University trustees didn’t want to hesitate and risk losing their top choice.
They chose Linda Thompson on Wednesday to become the 21st president of a university that was founded 182 years ago by Horace Mann, who is known as America’s Father of Public Education.
Search for permanent Westfield State University president down to five finalists
Updated Apr 05, 5:17 PM;
Posted Apr 05, 5:17 PM
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A search committee has narrowed the field to five finalists, the university announced Monday. They are:
Kristin Esterberg, president of the State University of New York College at Potsdam.
Darrell Kruger, professor of geography and former provost of Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C.
Robert Pignatello, senior adviser to the chancellor of the Pennsylvania System of Higher Education and former president of Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania.
Dione Somerville, executive vice president of Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, Iowa.
Linda Thompson, Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Science at the University of Massachusetts Boston.