The Spring Hill College Board of Trustees has announced that Dr. Christopher Puto is transitioning from the office of president to the role of president emeritus, an honorary title held by those who retire from the position. Longtime faculty member Fr. Christopher Viscardi was named president pro tem while a search was conducted for an interim president, according to SHC’s Office of Marketing and Communications.
On July 17, E. Joseph Lee II, Ph.D., was named Interim President of the College, effective August 1, 2018, according to an announcement by the college.
Dr. Lee graduated from Saint Michael’s College in Vermont with a degree in French Literature and a master’s degree in education. He attended the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University before earning his doctorate in higher education administration from Boston College.
He attended a Jesuit high school in Maine and first worked with the Jesuits as a young admissions counselor at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. During those years, Dr. Lee said, he had many Jesuits he considered to be his mentors. He was also an active member of Jesuit Association of Student Personnel Administrators (JASPA) for 15 years.
He comes to SHC from The Registry, a national firm providing interim leadership in higher education. His most recent assignments include Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management for the University of Maine, President of Pine Manor College in Massachusetts and Interim Director of Admissions at Boston Architectural College. Prior to his work with The Registry, Dr. Lee served as President for Saint Joseph’s College in Maine and Thomas More College in Kentucky. His record of achievements in these positions includes strategic planning, enrollment development and a commitment to faculty and staff engagement.
The search for an Interim President was conducted by a committee of the Board of Trustees. The search committee, Cabinet and representatives of the Faculty Assembly and Staff Assembly interviewed three finalists on July 11 and 12.
