WELLESLEY HILLS (May 2, 2016) — Dr. Podell will begin his tenure on July 1, 2016, following Dr. Yves Salomon-Fernandez, who has been serving as MassBay’s interim president this past academic year. The College’s fifth president Dr. John O’Donnell retired in August 2015.
Massachusetts Bay Community College Board of Trustees announced in March 2016 that it had made a unanimous recommendation to the Board of Higher Education that Dr. David Podell be appointed MassBay’s next president. Dr. Podell, who currently serves as the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty at Marymount Manhattan College in New York, was selected from a rich pool of candidates, following an extensive nationwide search led by a diverse group of Trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni on the College’s Presidential Search Committee.
“We are extremely pleased to officially welcome Dr. David Podell to MassBay Community College,” said MassBay Chairman of the Board of Trustees Thomas E. Peisch. “In Dr. Podell, MassBay has found an accomplished, thoughtful, and visionary leader. We look forward to working with him to build upon the great work of President John O’Donnell and Interim President Yves Salomon-Fernandez to continue to meet the needs of the communities we serve and the workforce demands of our region.”
“I am honored to have been chosen as MassBay’s next president,” said Dr. Podell. “During my first visit, I felt an immediate kinship with the MassBay community. Everywhere I looked, I saw faculty and staff working intently with students, who were focused and committed to their education. I am grateful to the College’s Board of Trustees for sharing their vision for leadership, and I am eager to join with the faculty and staff to help MassBay and its students soar.”
Dr. David Podell has served in his current role at Marymount Manhattan College since 2008. He previously served as the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost of the College of Staten Island, City University of New York in Staten Island, N.Y. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Pennsylvania, a Masters of Education in Child Development from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Psychology from New York University.