On Sept. 29, ETSU named Richard Rhoda the interim dean for the Clemmer College of Education after the college’s former dean, Terrence Hicks, was removed from the position.

Since Rhoda’s appointment, the college of education has introduced a new Center for Community College Leadership, where he is also serving as an adjunct professor.

The center’s goal is to address issues that occur in post secondary education with a focus on community colleges. The center will also conduct research on the needs of community colleges at the state and regional level as well as offer professional development for community college leaders.

Within this center, a new 15 credit hour program will be offered as a graduate certificate in community college leadership, which accepted its first cohort this fall.

The program is offered through the ETSU Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis and is designed for current community college employees who wish to pursue a leadership position at their institution.

Rhoda has been involved in higher education in Tennessee for over 4o years where he started as a member of the research staff for the Tennessee Board of Regents in 1973.

Beginning in 1985, he began work at Tennessee State University. There, he helped recruit the university’s first class of Ph.D. students, launched the Institute of Government and served as chief development officer, among many other positions.

During this time, he received his Ph.D. in higher education administration from Vanderbilt University, where he also became a professor in 1995. He also became the original assistant director of the Peabody Center for Education Policy and taught undergraduate and graduate courses.

After returning to TBR in 1990, Rhoda served as vice chancellor for administration. During his second time at TBR, he was interim president for Austin Peay State University and Nashville State Technical Institute. In 1997, he accepted a position as the executive director for the Tennessee Higher Education Commission until his retirement in 2014.

For more information on the new certificate program as well as the Center for Community College Leadership, call 439-4430 or email .

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  • Jordan Hensley

    Jordan Hensley is a senior journalism major with a minor in creative writing. In addition to her work at the East Tennessean as the 2016 News Editor, she serves as an Admissions Ambassador and Diversity Educator. If you don’t see her jamming out at a concert, you’re sure to hear her listening to her favorite artists, Taylor Swift or The 1975.

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