College of Southern Maryland Board of Trustees Names Three Finalists for Next President

The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) Board of Trustees announced today that after an extensive nationwide search, three finalists have been named as candidates to become the next president of the college. CSM’s current president Dr. Maureen Murphy announced earlier this year that she will enter retirement Dec. 31, 2022 after a lauded 35-year career dedicated to community colleges, students and equity.

“The presidential search committee has committed a significant amount of time, energy, and dedication to this process,” said CSM Board of Trustee Chair Shawn Coates, who with immediate past Trustee Chair Jay Webster, co-chaired the search committee. “We are excited to share our progress and selections with the community.”

The three candidates will each spend two full days touring CSM’s four campuses and meeting with constituent groups before the CSM Board of Trustees makes its final decision. The finalists are:

Dr. Naydeen González-De Jesús

Dr. Naydeen González-De Jesús harnesses a unique blend of international public diplomacy, research and higher education experience to drive sustainable change management as Executive Vice President of Student Success at Milwaukee Area Technical College. In addition to bringing together academic and student affairs in a collective bargaining environment rooted in shared governance, she oversees the vice presidents of Enrollment Management, Learning, and Retention and Completion, as well as the executive directors of the regional campuses. Believing in the power of education as the greatest equalizer, she plays a vital role in the college's commitment to the nationally recognized Guided Pathways framework to accelerate student success.

Dr. Tony Hawkins

Dr. Tony D. Hawkins, Ph.D. is currently the provost/executive vice president of Academic Affairs, Continuing Education, and Workforce Development at Frederick Community College in Maryland. Prior to assuming this assignment, he was the college-wide dean of Humanities at Montgomery College in Maryland, with oversight of a division that included course offerings in History, Political Science, World Languages, Philosophy, American Sign Language, Women's and Gender studies and two learning centers. He has performed other administrative assignments as a campus dean of Art, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus of Montgomery College and associate dean of English and Humanities at Hudson County Community College in Jersey City, N.J. Hawkins held the faculty rank of associate professor of Speech Communication and Theater at Prince George's Community College, teaching courses in Human Communication, Theater, and Radio, Television, and Film production.

Dr. Yolanda Wilson

Dr. Yolanda Wilson currently serves as the vice president of Instruction, Ashe Campus and Alleghany Center at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, and is a Leadership Coach for Achieving the Dream. She has worked in the North Carolina and South Carolina Community College Systems for more than 22 years, beginning her career as an adjunct faculty member before moving into more progressive leadership roles in both academic affairs, student services, and campus operations. Her work in higher education has centered on creating a student ready college culture, mitigating institutional barriers to access, retention, and completion, and strategically focusing on programming and policies that support all students to success.

Learn more about each candidate, the role of presidential search firm RH Perry & Associates, and about the process to select the sixth president of CSM, by visiting csmd.edu/presidential-search/index.html.