LINCOLN – The Board of Trustees announced four finalists in the search for the next president of Peru State College. After serving twelve years as Peru State President, Dr. Dan Hanson is retiring.
The president search committee has publicly identified four finalists for the Peru State president position. The four finalists are:
Michael Evans, PhD
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Dr. Michael Evans is the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer for Southern New Hampshire University’s campus-based program. Prior to SNHU, he served as the Provost of Unity College in Maine, and before that, he was the Interim Dean of the Indiana University School (IU) of Journalism. He served on the IU School of Journalism faculty for 14 years, earning tenure and promotion there. He is a graduate of the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard, earned a certificate in higher-education diversity from Cornell, and completed a nonprofit leadership program from Northwestern. Michael’s research explores indigenous communities’ expressions of culture through mass media. With the support of a Fulbright, he has conducted ethnographic fieldwork with Inuit videographers in the eastern Canadian Arctic, and he has conducted similar research with Aboriginal video and radio professionals in the Australian Outback and Native American journalists in several North American nations.
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David Jones, PhD
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Dr. David Jones has served Minnesota State University, Mankato as the Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at Minnesota State University, Mankato since 2011. As the chief student affairs officer, he is responsible for managing enrollment growth and providing excellent student services, including campus housing, campus recreation, career services, counseling, student health, student union, university security, undergraduate and graduate admissions, and New Student and Family Programs for the University. Previously, he served the University of Alabama as the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs from 2005 to 2011; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an Assistant Director for Housing & Residential Education from 2000-2005, College of William & Mary in Virginia as an Area Director for Residence Life from 1995-2000; and the University of Nebraska at Kearney as a Hall Director from 1993-1995. He has previously taught as an adjunct faculty at North Carolina State University, North Carolina Central University, and the University of Alabama. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York College at Oswego, a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and a doctorate from the College of William & Mary in Virginia.
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Jodi Kupper, PhD
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Dr. Jodi Kupper currently serves as Vice Chancellor for Academic Planning and Partnerships for the Nebraska State College System, which includes Chadron State, Peru State, and Wayne State Colleges. Her primary responsibilities focus on academic programming, academic initiatives, and planning and facilitating collaborations and partnerships that extend and enhance the academic programs being offered at the Colleges. Her career in education spans over 30 years and includes teaching high school English in both Nebraska and Iowa, serving as a tenured faculty member and Director of Teacher Education at Millikin University in Illinois, and serving as Dean of the School of Education at Peru State College. A native of northeast Nebraska, Dr. Kupper earned her Bachelor of Science in Education degree in Secondary Education from Wayne State College. Her advanced degrees include a Masters of Science in Secondary Education and a Doctor of Philosophy in Administration, Curriculum, and Instruction, both from the University of Nebraska.
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Scott Snyder, PhD
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Dr. Scott Snyder currently serves as Dean of the College of Science and Engineering at Idaho State University (ISU) and has also served the institution as interim Vice President for Research. Prior to his time at ISU, Snyder was Chief Research Officer at the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) for nearly eight years. For five of those years, Snyder also held the position of interim Executive Director of the University of Nebraska System’s Peter Kiewit Institute. Snyder first joined UNO in 2001 as a faculty member in the Department of Biology. During his time at UNO, Scott also served as a Program Director with the National Science Foundation. Dr. Snyder previously held a faculty position at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and was an NSF/Alfred P. Sloan Postdoctoral Fellow in Molecular Evolution at the University of New Mexico. His career has been dedicated to finding opportunities for students in and outside of the classroom. Snyder earned his Ph.D. at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he also earned his B.S. in biology. His M.S. comes from Wake Forest University. Snyder is a graduate of Auburn High School.
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“I am pleased that we have four talented finalists who will be able to lead Peru State into the future by building on the strong foundation created by President Hanson,” said Dr. Paul Turman, Chancellor of the Nebraska State College System. “I would like to thank the members of the search and advisory committees for their dedication to the search process.”
The finalists will spend two days meeting various college groups, touring Peru State College and the surrounding area, and interviewing with the Nebraska State Colleges Board of Trustees. The finalist interviews will be part of the Board Meeting on March 16 at the Lied Lodge in Nebraska City, NE. View the meeting schedule.
The Chancellor and the Board of Trustees will make the final selection. An announcement of the next president of Peru State College will be made at a special meeting of the Nebraska State Colleges Board of Trustees at a date to be determined.
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