Paul Beaudin has been selected as the next vice president of academic affairs at Northern Essex Community College, succeeding William Heineman, who left the college July 1 to become president of North Shore Community College.
The vice president of academic affairs is the chief academic officer of the college and is responsible for the quality and administration of all certificate and degree instructional programs at all college locations. The position reports to the president, and is a member of the president’s leadership cabinet. Beaudin said his experience working in diverse communities has prepared him to address the college’s mission of “closing the student success gap between Latino and white students and helping prepare more citizens of Massachusetts for a prosperous future.”
“From the teachers, my students and their parents, I learned that meaningful education must be society’s mandate for all…I learned that leadership is never solely about me. It is always about us: the students, their families, the community and the faculty who choose to be engaged in society’s great work,” he said in a press release.
Northern Essex President Lane A. Glenn noted Beaudin, throughout his career, “has been intensely focused on serving the underserved, closing equity gaps and ensuring everyone has access to a quality education, and the support needed to succeed.” His previous roles include superintendent of a school district in the Bronx and principal and teacher at a school in Spanish Harlem in New York City.
Beaudin comes to the college from Suffolk County Community College, part of the State University of New York, where he is the vice president for academic affairs and interim vice president for student affairs.
Beaudin officially joins the college at its Sept. 7 convocation.
Before joining Suffolk Community College in 2015, Beaudin was at his alma mater, Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y., serving in roles that include associate dean, School of Arts and Science; director of graduate studies, Education; and associate professor of education.
Although he has spent his professional career in New York, his parents were the children of mill workers in the Merrimack Valley and both graduated from Lawrence High School.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Science in Education from Iona College and a Professional School Administration and Supervision and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Language and Literacy Education from Fordham University.