Maurice Gipson, J.D., Ph. D, Named Interim President of Philander Smith University

Following four years as vice chancellor of the Division of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity at the University of Missouri, Maurice Gipson is leaving to become the interim president of  Philander Smith University is Little Rock, Arkansas  effective August 15, 2024.  Gipson previously served as vice chancellor of Diversity and Community Engagement at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. Prior to that he served for two years as a special assistant to the vice president for Diversity and Community Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin. He has also served as an institutional advancement and diversity consultant at Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma.

Gipson holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi, a juris doctorate from Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a master’s degree in history from Missouri State University in Springfield and a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

Attorney Jim Lucchese Appointed President of Berklee College of Music

Attorney Jim Lucchese, who is also a seasoned leader in the music industry with over two decades of experience in artist advocacy and service innovation, has been appointed as the 5th President of Berklee College of Music effective January 1, 2025.  Lucchese has been the CEO of Sofar Sounds and The Echo Nest.  In 2017 and 2018, Lucchese was a fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, where he focused on artists' rights to terminate exclusive grants of copyright.

A graduate of Georgetown University School of Law, he began his legal career as an artist-side music attorney at Greenberg Traurig in New York. 

Lucchese has served on several Berklee advisory committees over the past 15 years, including the President’s Advisory Council, the Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship, and the Pre-College, Online, and Professional Programs Advisory Committee.

Dickinson State College President Stephen Easton, J.D. Resigns Amid Nursing Crisis

President Easton of Dickinson State College in North Dakota resigned this month amid tensions with the faculty in the College’s nursing program. 

The seven full-time faculty members refused to renew their contracts because of a requirement that they teach an average of 13.3 student per class stating that it was unreasonable. While the College attempted to hire new faculty members to replace the seven, the State Nursing Board blocked the move. Since the only option was to rehire the seven faculty members, Easton resigned since he did not support the action.  Easton was attempting to reorganize the program that was not financially sustainable.

Easton had been appointed President of Dickinson State College in 2020 following a four-month appointment as interim President.  He had previously served as the Dean and professor of law at the University of Wyoming College of Law, where he also taught trial skills. He was also on the faculty at the University of Missouri Columbia School of Law.  

Easton served as U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota. He also had been a partner in the law firm of Pearce & Durick in North Dakota. He earned his J.D. from Stanford Law School.