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Edison names
Dr. Karen Rafinski as Interim President
Karen Rafinski, Ph. D., has been appointed Interim President of Edison
Community College. Edison’s Board of Trustees made the announcement
after a special meeting on Wednesday night. Rafinski will be interim
president while the Board works to hire a replacement for outgoing
President Dr. Cristobal Valdez, who is leaving to assume the presidency
at Central Wyoming College in Riverton, Wyoming.
“The college is fortunate to have been able to hire an excellent
college administrator to help us during this transitional period. Dr.
Karen Rafinski is universally respected and well liked,” said James
Thompson, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. “Her awareness of Edison
Community College, her considerable experience and her expertise will
serve us well. Together with the college’s Board of Trustees I am proud
to be able to announce this appointment.”
Dr. Rafinski, who most recently served as interim president of the Ohio
Association of Community Colleges (OACC) since September 2013, will
assume leadership of the College beginning July 7. Before serving as
President of the OACC, Dr. Rafinski retired from Clark State Community
College in Springfield, Ohio, where she was president for 16 years.
Dr. Rafinski brings 41 years of experience to Edison, and spent 26 of
those years in presidencies throughout Ohio and Minnesota state
colleges and universities. Her responsibilities have ranged from
faculty and athletic director, coaching, resource development, student
services and academic affairs.
When reached for comment, Dr. Rafinski expressed her enthusiasm for
taking on this role. “I'm excited to join the Board of Trustees,
faculty and staff of Edison Community College in this transition period
as we remain steadfastly focused on student success and completion; we
will center on growing the college to be even more serviceable to the
communities we serve.”
Residing in Springfield, Dr. Rafinski serves on many local boards
throughout the Miami Valley.
She holds a bachelor’s degree from Minnesota State University at
Moorhead; a master’s degree from the University of Washington, Seattle,
a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and an MPA from
Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1998, Dr. Rafinski
completed the Harvard Institute for Higher Education and received an
honorary doctorate from Urbana University in Ohio in 2000.
Now in its fifth decade of service, Edison Community College is
committed to providing higher education and advanced training
opportunities for the people of the greater Miami Valley.Edison is
accredited by the Higher Learning Commissionof the North Central
Association of Colleges and Schools and is recognized with the highest
order attainable by the Ohio Board of Regents. With campuses in Piqua
and Greenville, Edison provides a Personal Experience and Rewarding
Education. Visit us online at www.edisonohio.edu
See press release "Valdez Accepts Position in Wyoming" here
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