FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 18, 2020
Contact: Jack Hershey or Tom Walsh
COLUMBUS, OH – The Ohio Association of Community Colleges (OACC) has named Richard Woodfield, Ph.D., as its new chief academic officer. Dr. Woodfield replaces Dr. Michael Snider, who retired earlier this year after more than a decade of service to the OACC and Ohio’s 23 community colleges.
Dr. Woodfield has most recently served as provost and chief academic officer of Zane State College, where he also served as an accreditation officer for the Higher Learning Commission. Prior to joining Zane State, he served in a number of senior leadership positions at Rhodes State College, including vice president for academic affairs.
Woodfield received his associate degree from the State University of New York Agricultural and Technical College, his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and his doctorate from the University of Maryland. As a well-respected higher education leader in Ohio, Dr. Woodfield has led Zane State’s participation in AACC Pathways, Achieving the Dream, and Holistic Student Supports and he has given many state and national presentations on scaling guided pathways to better serve community college students. He has also served on statewide committees including the OACC’s Community College Funding Consultation.
As chief academic officer, Dr. Woodfield will work closely with the Ohio Department of Higher Education and chief academic officers of Ohio’s community colleges to identify ways to improve student success. He will also help support OACC’s Student Success Leadership Institute and the Leadership Academy for Student Success, which provides mid-level faculty and staff a year of training in ways to promote student success.
“With a strong background in both academic affairs and student affairs, Rick will help us keep our momentum in working with our colleges to drive student success,” said Jack Hershey, OACC president and CEO. “His knowledge of Ohio’s higher education system and his training in developing holistic student support systems will be an asset as we further integrate new ideas to help students get the training and education they need for rewarding careers.”