After Bruce Benson was installed as the new president of the University of Colorado, we introduced you last week to 10 Colorado college and university leaders. By popular demand, here now are the biographies of six more. Note: Benson, CU’s controversial new president, is the only one of the 16 with no higher academic credentials than a bachelor’s degree.
Rev. Michael J. Sheeran, S.J.
President
Regis University in DenverRev. Michael J. Sheeran, S.J., received his doctorate in politics from Princeton University in 1977. He entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1957 and was ordained a Catholic Priest in 1970.
Father Sheeran became the 23rd president of Regis University on Jan. 1, 1993. He had served as academic vice president of the university since 1982. In August 1993, Father Sheeran hosted the first meeting between Pope John Paul II and President Bill Clinton at Regis University. He also served as an expert commentator for Channel 4 in Denver during World Youth Day.
Regis University is one of 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States and the only Jesuit university in Colorado.
Colorado Mountain College
Seven mountain campusesCMC’s Website indicates that the college is currently in the process of selecting a new president.
This is the college’s defined Required Qualifications for president:
Leading candidates for the position of president of Colorado Mountain College will have a minimum of five (5) years of progressive senior leadership experience and an earned doctorate or terminal degree from an accredited institution. Experience in higher education, including teaching, is preferred. Leading candidates from other sectors will have equivalent records of achievement.The two finalists for the job are:
The college describes Forrester as having worked for the college from 1989 to 1999 as Timberline Campus dean in Leadville. He is currently president of the Community College of Beaver County in Monaca, Pa.
Jensen, the other remaining finalist, has been, for 19 years, president of a company that provides training in leadership development, team building, process improvement training and strategic planning to businesses, colleges and nonprofit organizations.
M. W. Scoggins
President
Colorado School of Mines – GoldenColorado School of Mines was the first public institution of higher learning to open its doors in Colorado. Founded in 1874 to answer the Colorado mining industry’s need for new mining methods, this institution has evolved and expanded through the years to address the contemporary needs of a complex world community. Mines is now a dynamic center of research and a respected leader in engineering education and applied science related to Earth, Energy, Materials and Environment.
Dr. M. W. Scoggins was appointed Mines’ 16th president in June 2006. Prior to coming to Mines, Dr. Scoggins had over 34 years experience in the global oil and gas business with Mobil and ExxonMobil.
Dr. Scoggins received his undergraduate education at the University of Tulsa. He received his master’s degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma, and returned to the University of Tulsa for his doctorate in petroleum engineering.
Dr. Scoggins was elected to the University of Tulsa Board of Trustees in 2005 and served on the executive committee; the finance, investment and audit committee; and the faculty and curriculum committee until accepting the presidency at Mines. Dr. Scoggins was inducted into the College of Engineering’s Hall of Fame in 1998.
Stephen M. Jordan
President
Metropolitan State College of DenverDr. Jordan, 57, was appointed president of Metro State in 2005 after having served as president of Eastern Washington University (EWU) since 1998.
Jordan lived in Colorado from childhood through the late 1980s, and his academic credentials are from Colorado institutions: a doctorate and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Colorado-Denver and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Northern Colorado. In addition, he spent the first 15 years of his career in increasingly prestigious positions in the Office of State Planning and Budgeting, the University of Colorado system and the CU Health Sciences Center.
George Hegarty
President
Teikyo Loretto Heights University in DenverTeikyo Loretto Heights University is one of the many international schools that make up the worldwide Teikyo University Group, which educates roughly 50,000 students annually in Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, China and Malaysia. The group also has affiliations with such world-renowned institutions as Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge and Moscow State.
George Hegarty was appointed president of Teikyo Loretto Heights University in January 2006, after serving long-term residences in academic capacities in 10 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. Hegarty first started working with the Teikyo University Group in 1983 when he began study abroad programs for Teikyo students at Drake University where he was director of the Center for International Programs and Services. He previously served as TLHU’s provost from 1992-94 and vice president for academic affairs from 1997-2002.
He has spent periods as CEO of two other universities: president of Teikyo Westmar University and rector of Webster University Thailand. His career also includes serving as professor in the Master’s Program in Intercultural Management at the School for International Training in Vermont, program director of the American Degree Program at Taylor’s College in Malaysia, English instructor at Des Moines Area Community College, teacher of English and social studies in high schools in Sydney, Australia, and teacher of English as a foreign language at College de Sedhiou in Senegal as a Peace Corps volunteer.
Dr. Hegarty returned to Teikyo Loretto Heights University after teaching his eighth academic year as a Fulbright professor in American literature and civilization. Most recently his Fulbright was at the University of Antananarivo (ex-University of Madagascar); earlier in his career at the National University of Cote d’Ivoire and the University of Yaound
