MCLA Narrows Presidential Search Field to Two Candidates
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts's Board of Trustees decided this week to narrow its field of presidential candidates to two applicants.
A vote was passed unanimously to focus MCLA’s consideration on two finalists: Dr. Jaimie Birge and Dr. Alan Ray. All trustees were invited to this meeting, and nine out of 10 trustees were in attendance.
Birge, who is currently serving as interim president at Marygrove College in Detroit, has worked in higher education for more than 30 years. He served as the fourth president of Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, N.H., from 2009 to 2015. Previously, he served as the executive vice president and interim president at Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, W.V.
Birge holds a Ph.D. in leadership studies from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., an M.Ed. in guidance and counseling from Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, and a B.S. in elementary education from Westfield State University in Massachusetts.
Ray stepped down from Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Ill., in June 2015 after seven years of service as president and professor of religion and society. He is currently in residence at Harvard Law School as a visiting scholar, where he conducts research on issues in higher education leadership.
Ray received his J.D. from the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law, and holds a Ph.D. in the study of religion from Harvard University. He received his B.A. summa cum laude from the former St. Thomas Seminary College, in Denver.
The trustees will next meet on Thursday, Dec. 10, at 5 p.m. in Murdock Hall room 218 to further discuss these candidates and to vote on whom to recommend to the Board of Higher Education as the next president of MCLA.
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