PORT ANGELES — Suzanne Ames of Kirkland will be the next president of Peninsula College.
Board of Trustees Chair Mike Glenn announced on Friday the hiring of the vice-president of instruction at Lake Washington Institute of Technology in Kirkland.
Ames will fill the position now held by Luke Robins, who has led Peninsula College since July 2012.
He plans to retire at the end of this school year. She is expected to begin work about July 1.
“Dr. Ames has worked her entire career preparing for this opportunity and we could not be more pleased she will be the next President of Peninsula College,” Glenn said.
“Her open, collaborative leadership style and commitment to teaching and learning will be a great asset to the College community.”
No information was available on Friday about her pay.
Ames previously served as associate vice president of instruction at Lake Washington Institute of Technology.
She earned a doctorate in educational leadership for change from Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, Calif.; a master’s of business administration in marketing from City University in Seattle; and two bachelor’s degrees — in communications and political science — from the University of Washington in Seattle.
Peninsula College trustees held many public forums before making their decision.
The public had the opportunity to meet all four finalists who also included Melissa Curtis, associate vice chancellor of enrollment management for the Austin Community College District in Austin, Texas; Kristen Jones, who most recently served as provost, acting president and acting vice president of human resources at Bellevue College; and Kerry Levett, vice president for student learning and success at Cascadia College in Bothell.
Glenn and the board of trustees expressed their appreciation to all who participated in the forums as well as to the Presidential Search Advisory Committee “for their time, dedication, and thoughtful work on behalf of Peninsula College.”
