Dr. Amy Sue DeSonia, vice president for academic affairs and provost of New River Community and Technical College, has been selected by a national review panel as one of 36 community college leaders to attend the prestigious Executive Leadership Institute sponsored by the League for Innovation in the Community College.
Dr. DeSonia is the only representative chosen from West Virginia. All of the 36 participants hold senior-level leadership positions in community colleges throughout the United States.
The institute, to be held in Phoenix, AZ, Dec. 13-17, provides an opportunity for potential community college presidents or those in transition to review their abilities and interests, to refine their skills, and to participate in discussions on leadership with an outstanding array of faculty drawn from nationally and internationally recognized community college leaders. These include community college chief executive officers, experts in leadership development, community college trustees, presidential search consultants, members of the League for Innovation board of directors, and other prominent figures.
Dr. DeSonia joined New River CTC in January of 2014 from Quinebaug Valley Community College in Danielson and Willimantic, CT. She has accomplished many goals at New River CTC including an Educational Master Plan, transfer articulation agreements with four-year higher education institutions, as well as an academic program review process for all certificate and degree programs.
“Dr. DeSonia has established herself as a leader at the College, providing direction for our academic team as well as the highest sense of purpose and conviction about the importance of community college education,” said Dr. L. Marshall Washington, president of New River Community and Technical College.
Established in 1968, the League for Innovation in the Community College is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to catalyzing the community college movement.
“The review panel was extremely impressed with the quality of the applicants, which speaks well for the future vitality of the community college,” said Gerardo E. de los Santos, president and CEO of the League for Innovation.
New River Community and Technical College serves nine counties in southeastern West Virginia from the Greenbrier Valley Campus (Lewisburg), Mercer County Campus (Princeton), Nicholas County Campus (Summersville), and Raleigh County Campus (Beaver/Beckley).
