Search committee describes educational leader as solution-focused, innovative, strategic, enthusiastic

Dr. Dean G. McCurdy, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Ivy Tech Community College, has been selected unanimously by the Colby-Sawyer College Board of Trustees to serve as the institution’s 10th president.

Prior to becoming provost at Ivy Tech, the nation’s largest singly accredited community college system comprising 19 campuses across Indiana, McCurdy was chancellor for its Kokomo location. In that role, he led record fundraising and managed the Kokomo Transformation Project, a redesign and renovation of the campus.  

And, as a professor of biology at Albion College he directed an honors program and led efforts focused on experiential learning and community engagement for students. McCurdy will join Colby-Sawyer on June 1.

McCurdy will succeed Susan D. Stuebner, who led Colby-Sawyer from 2016 to 2024. Laura Sykes '98, former academic vice president and dean of faculty at the college, has served as interim president since last July. 

Colby-Sawyer trustees Tom Csatari and Ann Harris co-chaired the Presidential Search Committee, which partnered with the firm Isaacson, Miller.

“Selecting the next president of our college is the Board of Trustees’ most important responsibility,” said Board Chair Lisa Hogarty ’81. “Our selection of Dr. McCurdy was based on his unique combination of skills and character. Among them, he has been deeply immersed in the liberal arts throughout his career, he has broad institutional and financial management expertise, sparkling emotional intelligence and a drive to innovate. We know he will be an inspiring leader and public figure because of his keen intellect and his ability to distill and fulfill strategic priorities that will keep us on solid financial footing and advance our academic mission for the foreseeable future.”

“The college’s history of excellence in teaching and providing experiential learning for all students aligns with what is most effective in supporting student success.”
— Dean McCurdy

McCurdy said he was elated to be offered the job of Colby-Sawyer president. While he’s enjoyed each role he’s had in higher education, McCurdy said the breadth and depth of his experiences are a great match for Colby-Sawyer and its mission. 

“I’m excited about meeting our students, alumni and trustees, and about the opportunity to work with them and the outstanding faculty and staff to bring new opportunities to the college, our students and our communities,” he said.

Colby-Sawyer’s distinctive approach, which combines the liberal arts tradition with innovation and community engagement, is a recipe for success in higher education, said McCurdy. 

“The college’s history of excellence in teaching and providing experiential learning for all students aligns with what is most effective in supporting student success. I’ve spent half of my career at liberal arts colleges and half at very different types of colleges, including one that is now among the largest and fastest-growing institutions in the country,” he said. 

“I’ve had opportunities to learn a lot about higher education along the way — how it’s changing and where we have opportunities to engage students and partners. It was clear to me through the search process that Colby-Sawyer is excited about future opportunities as well.”

McCurdy’s extensive and multifaceted career in higher education started at Bowdoin College in Maine, where he was field manager of the Coastal Studies Center and a visiting professor of biology. At Albion College, a private liberal arts school in Michigan focused on career preparation, he was a tenured professor and chaired the biology department. There, he advised 50-75 students annually and earned Teacher of the Year, New Researcher of the Year and service awards.

Following his tenure at Albion, McCurdy worked at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, where he was associate vice president for instruction. While there, he founded the Bronson Healthy Living Campus in Michigan, a partnership between Kalamazoo Valley Community College and regional healthcare providers.

As an ecologist, McCurdy has authored 20 peer-reviewed scientific papers on fish, crustaceans, shorebirds and turtles living in coastal and inland environments in Maine, Nova Scotia and Suriname, South America.

McCurdy is also a skilled administrator. At Ivy Tech, where he has served since 2017, he succeeded in achieving record growth in enrollment, student retention and college completions. He led a successful campus capital campaign, provided free college-level summer classes for Indiana high school students and effected improvements in student success using an experiential, liberal arts approach to education combined with a focus on workforce development.  

Dr. Sue Ellspermann, president of Ivy Tech Community College, said McCurdy is a transformative leader, championing excellence and innovation in teaching and learning while ensuring student success remains at the heart of everything the college does. 

“His commitment to academic integrity and his ability to forge meaningful partnerships have strengthened our institution in countless ways,” she said. “While we will miss his leadership, we are incredibly proud to see him take on this new role as president of Colby-Sawyer College. We have no doubt that his vision, dedication and passion for higher education will serve the Colby-Sawyer community well. We wish him every success in this exciting new chapter of his career.”

“Dean is a hard-working and reflective leader. He is an advocate for students, which is highlighted by his numerous research publications with undergraduate students as co-authors and his extensive experience advising students.”
— Eric Deschner ’26

Colby-Sawyer School of Arts & Sciences Dean Hilary Williams, who served on the Presidential Search Committee, said she sensed that McCurdy would be a galvanizing force for Colby-Sawyer. She described him as strategic, visionary and analytical, and said his enthusiasm for innovation and vitality in higher education is contagious.

“He has demonstrated an ability to scale and grow both programs and institutions, with a proven record of building enrollment, community partnerships and employer partnerships,” Williams said. “He is passionate about liberal education, experiential learning, workforce development and student success. I found my interview sessions with Dean to be so inspirational.”

Eric Deschner ’26, a student on the search committee, was impressed with McCurdy’s values and responsiveness to the community.

“Dean is a hard-working and reflective leader,” said Deschner, a sport management and exercise science major and education minor. “He is an advocate for students, which is highlighted by his numerous research publications with undergraduate students as co-authors and his extensive experience advising students.”

McCurdy is a first-generation college graduate. He earned a doctorate in biology from Carleton University in Ontario and a bachelor’s degree with honors in biology from Acadia University in Nova Scotia.

He will collaborate with the Colby-Sawyer community to develop a shared, powerful vision. 

That vision, he said, will include a continued focus “on preparing graduates for a changing world — with the skills, knowledge and experiences needed to pursue successful careers and lives of meaning and value.”

 

 

Community Impressions

“Dean rose to the top [of the search] with his depth of administrative experience, strong academic background in teaching and research, focus on student engagement and keen strategic thinking. His vision excites me to think about the possibilities we can achieve.”
— Nicholas Baer, professor in the School of Arts & Sciences, Colby-Sawyer College
 

“I was so impressed by Dean’s ability to share his passion for the liberal arts and his understanding of the challenges facing higher education. Because Dean is a skilled communicator, I am confident that he will connect with our neighbors in the Kearsarge-Sunapee area and across the region to build partnerships and tell the story of the transformative work being done at Colby-Sawyer. I am excited to work with Dean as he collaborates with the trustees, faculty, staff and students to chart the college’s future.”
— Tom Csatari, trustee and co-chair of the Presidential Search Committee
 

“Dean lives our CSC values. He values interconnections and relationships with others, manifesting mutual respect and a high regard for others through his consideration of many perspectives and active pursuit of those perspectives. He has demonstrated excellence and continual improvement in diverse settings by proactively anticipating and responding to change while remaining acutely aware of the people most impacted by change. His honesty and integrity are revealed through his commitment to his work and to his people. He demonstrates responsible citizenship and stewardship by engaging with his communities at all levels for meaningful solutions."
— Ann Fournier, associate professor in the School of Nursing & Health Sciences, Colby-Sawyer College
 

“Dean and Vivien McCurdy will be wonderful additions to Colby-Sawyer and New London. They are excited to be involved in campus life, to engage with the community and to explore all of the opportunities that our region has to offer. I look forward to working with Dean as he assumes Colby-Sawyer’s presidency and takes the college forward. And I can’t wait to introduce both Dean and Vivien to our incredible neighbors and partners in New London and the surrounding communities.”
— Ann Harris, trustee and co-chair of the Presidential Search Committee
 

“Dr. Dean McCurdy’s mentorship played a pivotal role in shaping my future. As his undergraduate research student at Albion College, I gained invaluable hands-on experience that deepened my understanding of science. Today, as I teach and mentor undergraduate students, I carry forward lessons Dean imparted: Be your authentic self. His authenticity fostered trust. Be a source of support, not a barrier to success. I strive to be my students’ biggest cheerleader, just as Dean was for me. Embrace positivity. Dean’s optimism made even the most challenging parts of research fun experiences. Mistakes became learning opportunities. I aim to bring the same energy into my classroom so students feel encouraged and inspired.” 
— Dr. Megan Lupek, College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University 
 

“Members of the search committee were so impressed by the breadth of Dean’s experience and his passion for teaching and mentoring undergraduate students in a small, residential community. He clearly believes in the transformative power of education, and he has a deep understanding of the work that we do at Colby-Sawyer.”
— Daniel Parish, vice president for college advancement, Colby-Sawyer College
 

“Dean McCurdy was one of our most successful biology professors in providing research experiences for Albion students. His lab studied a complex and dynamic series of interactions among coastal mud shrimp, a parasitic worm that caused them to crawl to the surface, and shorebirds that ate them, completing the worm’s life cycle. Dean’s students augmented lab experiments with field work with him on mud flats from Canada’s Bay of Fundy to Suriname in South America. Not only did his students publish scientific papers, they enjoyed memorable life experiences.” 
— J. Dan Skean Jr., professor emeritus, Albion College  
 

“I worked as a researcher during my undergraduate years with Dr. McCurdy in Suriname and Nova Scotia. I also took several biology classes with him. As a policy analyst for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, I’m grateful for the science-based thinking that I developed in this work and the real-world perspectives of ecological interdependency and social justice that are foundational elements to my career path.” 
— Erica Tauzer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
 

“I am excited that Dean is going to be the next president of Colby-Sawyer College. In my 31 years here, our presidential transitions have resulted in the right president for the time, and this is no exception. Dean understands the headwinds that are facing all institutions of higher education; he is an experienced administrator and has an innovative mindset. His passion for teaching and engaging students is palpable and will help him connect with students and faculty. I love how much he and his wife, Vivien, are looking forward to being active participants in the CSC community, which is so important on our campus. I look forward to working with Dean over these next few months to help him transition into his presidency. I am confident I am leaving CSC (again) in good hands.”
— Laura A. Sykes '98, interim president and professor in the School of Arts & Sciences, Colby-Sawyer College