Claremont
Ali Rafieymehr’s appointment fills a void created when Alicia Harvey Smith resigned in August after accepting the position as executive vice chancellor of Lone Star Community College in Houston.
Rafieymehr was appointed for a two-year term. College trustee Allen Damren said there are no plans right now to launch an active search for a permanent president.
“This will give us some time to try things out without putting pressure on the board (of trustees to find a new president,)” Damren said in a phone interview.
Though the possibility exists that the interim position becomes permanent, which is what happened in the White Mountain Community College campus, Damren said it is too early for that discussion.
Rafieymehr came to the school last June and as RVCC’s chief academic officer, his responsibilities include promoting academic excellence and student achievement while building partnerships with industry and developing paths for students to move from high school to college.
“I am deeply honored to have been asked to serve as River Valley’s president. The students, faculty and staff across the regions we serve are a true inspiration to me, and I am committed to the mission of this college and the community college system,” Rafieymehr said in a news release.
Before coming to Claremont, Rafieymehr was the workforce development consultant and dean of Dyn University at Dynamic Network Services in Manchester, where he helped to develop current and future workforce talent for Dyn and other companies in the state. He has served other New England educational institutions in the field of information technology and computer science.
In the private sector, Rafieymehr’s experience includes a 20-year career as a software engineer at Digital Equipment Corp., Compaq Corp., and Avici Systems.
In the news release, Damren said that whether he is “inviting area middle school students to experience computer programming at the college or supporting the work of college faculty to enhance programs and curriculum in partnership with business, Ali has shown a real talent for strengthening the foundation of River Valley and its value to the region.”
Rafieymehr’s appointment was recommended to the trustees by community college system Chancellor Dr. Ross Gittell.
