Office of the President
The Office of the President brings together the president’s cabinet and the office’s executive staff. Albion College’s vice presidents collaborate closely with the president to lead focused areas of executive responsibility around key institutional priorities.
Incoming President
Dr. Wayne P. Webster will begin his responsibilities as the 18th President of Albion College July 1, 2023.
Webster brings 23 years of experience to his new role, including an extensive background in development, alumni relations, student engagement and shared governance. During his career, Webster has led initiatives to raise more than $250 million to fund endowments, support capital campaigns, enhance infrastructure and engage with constituents. Recognized by his peers as a consensus builder and thoughtful listener, Webster has worked in leadership roles at nationally ranked private colleges with enrollments between 1,000 and 2,000 students in Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Interim President
Joseph Calvaruso
Email: joecalvaruso@albion.edu
Joseph Calvaruso graduated from Albion College in 1978. Upon graduation, he continued his studies earning his M.B.A. from Western Michigan University. Prior to retiring, Calvaruso served as the executive director for the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Before joining the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation in 2008, Calvaruso spent 29 years in the banking industry. Most recently, he served as senior vice president, director of risk management at Mercantile Bank.
Calvaruso serves on numerous non-profit boards. He and his wife Donna live in Galesburg, Michigan.
President's Cabinet
Interim Provost, Vice President for Academic Affairs
Lisa B. Lewis
Email: provost@albion.edu
Phone: (517) 629-0222
Leadership: Academic Affairs
The Office of the Provost facilitates the College’s academic mission. Academic Affairs at Albion College includes the following: faculty and academic personnel and faculty development, academic programs, academic standards, the library and experiential learning programming, including FURSCA, School for Public Purpose and Professional Advancement, institutes, centers, career and internship services and international and off-campus programs. The Office of the Provost also partners with the faculty to promote ongoing innovation in the curriculum of the College.
Lisa B. Lewis is interim provost and professor in Albion College’s Chemistry and Biochemistry Department. At Albion, Lewis has held the role of department chair, associate provost, director of the Prentiss M. Brown Honors Institute, and director of admission events and academic liaison. Lewis served as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellow (STPF) at the National Science Foundation, where she worked to support the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI) by shepherding a grassroots effort to advance collaboration and coordination between government-sponsored big data producers and the materials research community-at-large. In that role, she recommended policy to the White House National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee for MGI.
Lewis is a longstanding mentor and a co-chair of AAC&U/Project Kaleidoscope’s (PKAL) annual STEM Leadership Institute. She served on the PKAL Advisory Board, advising the PKAL Executive Director and AAC&U on strategic planning in support of quality undergraduate STEM education and inclusive excellence. As a Visiting Associate for the American Chemical Society’s Committee on Professional Training, Lewis conducts site visits to chemistry departments that seek accreditation by ACS. Lewis developed two mobile apps for teaching chemistry, AcidBase and Chemical Valence, and is assessing their impact on learning.
At Albion, she teaches courses in introductory, analytical and physical chemistry and chemistry courses for non-science majors. Her professional interests include the study of the use of data science to advance materials research, the unique chemistry of surfaces, faculty development, science pedagogy and promoting undergraduate research and interdisciplinary study. Lewis received her B.S. in chemistry from King’s College, her M.S. in physical chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh and her Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of California – Irvine.
Vice President for Administration and Finance
Gary Black
Email: gblack@albion.edu
Phone: (517) 629-0289
Leadership: Accounting Office, Bookstore, Business Office, Human Resources
Gary Black oversees the planning, implementation, management and running of the College’s financial activities. He leads the Business Office, Accounting Office, Human Resources and the Albion College Bookstore.
Black has more than 25 years of experience in senior executive roles in finance, accounting and IT resources, manufacturing and logistics. He joined Johnson & Johnson as a senior financial analyst out of school before relocating to Switzerland, Austria and Germany. He spent 15 years, first with Johnson & Johnson and then as a private management consultant. He is an experienced chief financial officer and chief executive officer.
Black earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Pennsylvania State University and has completed graduate coursework at the London Business School and the International Institute for Management Development, Lausanne, Switzerland. He is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management.
Vice President for Marketing and Communication
Catherine Cole
Email: ccole@albion.edu
Phone: (517) 629-0749
Cell: (269) 832-8454
Divisional Team
Areas of Responsibility: Marketing and Communication
Catherine Cole is a higher education professional with more than 30 years of experience in enrollment management, marketing and communications at several institutions around the country. She completed a certificate in crisis communication for higher education at the John F. Kennedy School of Public Policy at Harvard University and the integrated marketing communication program at West Virginia University, earning an M.S. degree. She also earned a B.S. in journalism from Eastern Michigan University. Throughout her career, Cole has overseen double-digit increases in first-time, full-time enrollment, transfer enrollment and in retention.
Vice President for Enrollment Management
Mandy Dubiel
Email: adubiel@albion.edu
Phone: (517) 629-0321
Leadership: Division of Enrollment Management (Office of Admission and Office of Financial Aid)
Mandy’s role at Albion College is to develop and implement an annual and long-term enrollment management strategy that complements and supports the overall strategic plans of the College.
She has been with the College for more than 26 years and has served as the interim leader several times. Throughout her time in Enrollment Management, Mandy has served in several positions that have allowed her to learn every aspect of the operation and build partnerships across campus.
Mandy graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University and is currently enrolled in the AACRAO SEM certification program. She belongs to NACAC, MACAC and AACRAO.
She is also the proud mother to three terrific children, Richard, Téa and Mikel, and grandma of five. When she has free time, she likes to be on the water or in the woods.
Director, Intercollegiate Athletics
Todd Hibbs
Email: thibbs@albion.edu
Phone: (517) 629-1000
Divisional Team
Areas of Responsibility: Intercollegiate Athletics
Vice President for Belonging and Campus Culture
Taran McZee
Email: tmczee@albion.edu
Phone: (517) 629-0174
Areas of Responsibility: Office of Belonging and Title IX
Taran McZee and his team are charged with creating a campus climate that supports equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging, especially for historically marginalized students, faculty and staff. In particular, under McZee’s leadership, the team is working to develop and implement a college-wide framework for cultivation and accountability for every member of Albion College.
McZee has worked at three other small, private liberal art institutions and has successfully transformed and acquired a well-documented track record of diversity, strategic planning, coalition building, DEI training and campus-wide collaboration. He has advanced and created new territory in the area of inclusive excellence and social justice work. McZee looks forward to cultivating, engaging, supporting and inspiring an institution to recognize the value of inclusion and belonging work.
McZee earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology with a concentration in criminal justice and his master’s degree in educational administration and community leadership, both from Central Michigan University. He is completing his dissertation for a doctorate from the University of Kentucky.
He belongs to the National Association of Diversity Officer in Higher Education (NADOHE), the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education, the John D. O’Bryant National Think Tank (JDOTT), the Black Boys and Men Symposium Committee and the Commission for Racial Justice and Equity.
Throughout his career, McZee has received several awards and honors, including the completion of DEI Certification with the National Association for Diversity Officer in Higher Education, the HEED Award from INSIGHT into Diversity Higher Education, the Innovator Award from the Kentucky College Personnel Association, the YMCA Black Achiever of the Year award from the YMCA of Central Kentucky, the Golden Apple Award from Fayette County Public Schools and the Distinguished Award for Diversity at Hanover College.
Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Marc Newman
Email: mnewman@albion.edu
Phone: (517) 629-0446
Divisional Team
Areas of Responsibility: Annual Fund, Alumni Engagement, Planned Giving, Major Gifts, Stewardship.
Marc Newman has 20 years of experience leading in the areas of major fundraising campaigns, grant writing, fiscal management, governmental relations, board development, special events planning and staff supervision.
As vice president for Institutional Advancement, Newman develops and implements fundraising strategy to support the College’s bold redevelopment plan for physical and programmatic infrastructure. He cultivates, stewards and engages alumni and donors and builds relationships with major foundations, creating a culture of philanthropy for all stakeholders.
Prior to coming to Albion, Newman served as vice president of advancement, research and economic development at Grambling State University. In this role, he led the vision and implementation of fundraising, communications, sponsored programs and economic development initiatives. Newman is credited with increasing alumni giving by 255 percent, creating more than 70 new scholarships and endowments and developing a new athletic sponsorship platform. Newman is also responsible for the organization of the Grambling University Foundation and the creation of the Doug Williams Center for the Study of Race and Politics in Sports.
Prior to his time at Grambling State University, Newman spent more than nine years as the vice president of institutional advancement and development at Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has served two separate stints with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) serving as the area development director for the UNCF Illinois/Wisconsin campaign and most recently as the regional development director of the UNCF North Carolina and Virginia campaigns, where he was responsible for a market with seven UNCF member institutions.
Newman received his bachelor’s degree from Chicago State University and holds an M.B.A. from the University of Phoenix. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in developmental education with a concentration in higher education administration at Grambling State University.
Vice President for Student Development and Dean of Students
Leroy Wright
Email: lwright@albion.edu
Phone: (517) 629-0226
Divisional Team
Areas of Responsibility: Anna Howard Shaw Women’s Center, Athletics, Campus Life, Campus Safety, Community Living, the Cutler Center for Student Success and Academic Achievement, Integrated Wellness, Metz Dining Services.
Leroy Wright has 26 years of experience working with students in a higher education setting. Before coming to Albion College, Wright served as associate vice chancellor and interim vice chancellor for student affairs at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Wright also served 10 years as dean of student life at Ferris State University, in Michigan. His roots are in residential life and community living, where he has served in a variety of roles at Ferris State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Dayton.
As a first-generation college student, Wright was born and raised in Detroit and still has family in Belleville, Roseville and Detroit, Michigan. He earned his undergraduate degree in human resource management with a minor in multicultural relations in America from Ferris State University, and his graduate degree in counseling and human relations with an emphasis on college student development from Northern Arizona University.
A unique and highly skilled educator, Wright believes that as professionals, we have a responsibility to support a high level of student development by empowering students to do three simple things: take care of themselves, take care of each other and take care of their community.
Office of the President Staff
Executive Assistant to the President
Jen Selleck
Email: jselleck@albion.edu
Phone: (517) 629-0210
Jen Selleck brings with her a decade of experience in supporting leaders across academic, religious, and business sectors. She’s passionate about personalized and collaborative efficiency strategies and aims to smooth any speed bumps to organizational wins.
Soon after graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Selleck spent a year teaching English in St. Petersburg, Russia. Following her return stateside, she enrolled in seminary, earning her graduate degree from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington D.C. where she also worked in the Business Office.
Since then, Selleck has been growing her administrative skills in academia. Her last role was supporting the Senior Associate Dean of Education and Academic Affairs of Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University. As a recent Michigan transplant, Jen enjoys finding the local hidden treasures of the area with her husband, spoiling her dog, and creating stained glass art.
Executive Assistant to the Provost
Luann K. Shepherd
Email: lshepherd@albion.edu
Phone: (517) 629-0222
Luann Shepherd has worked at Albion College since 1987 when she started as a temporary clerical for the Provost’s Office. Since then, she has served as an Administrative Secretary for Communications and later, Marketing and Communications. There, she was responsible for the College’s photo archiving system, writing class notes for Io Triumphe! magazine and managing office responsibilities. In 2016, she became the administrative assistant to the vice president for alumni relations and advancement. In this role, she served as supervisor to the office’s clerical support staff while managing all office needs. In 2020, Luann moved to a new role in the Office of the President as an executive assistant with focused support for the Provost’s Office.
In her spare time, Shepherd likes spending time with her family, her cats, reading and painting bisque at a local pottery studio.