UVA, Emporia State, Mercer, Clemson and More

Toby Arquette, vice president for strategic growth, marketing and digital transformation at St. Ambrose University in Iowa, will become president of Columbia College, headquartered in Missouri, starting March 1.

Matt Baker, vice president of student affairs at Northwest Missouri State University, has been named president of Emporia State University in Kansas, effective March 2.

Scott Beardsley, dean of the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, has been named president of the university, effective Jan. 1.

Allen Burgad, dean of the school of education at Valley City State University in North Dakota, has been named interim president of the institution, effective immediately.

Laura Carlson, interim president of the University of Delaware, was appointed president, effective Jan. 1.

Will Dudley, president of Washington and Lee University in Virginia, has been appointed president of Claremont McKenna College in California, effective July 2026.

Penny Elkins, who has served as executive vice president and interim provost at Mercer University in Georgia, has been elected president of the institution, effective Jan. 1.

Bob Jones, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at Clemson University, has been installed as interim president, effective Jan. 1.

Parnell Lovelace, vice president of community at Jessup University in California, has been named the institution’s interim president, beginning in December 2025.

Torrence Powell, superintendent/president of Napa Valley College, has been appointed chancellor of the Los Rios Community College District, pending approval by the Board of Trustees, effective July 1.