The board of trustees for Owens Community College in Perrysburg, Ohio, has selected Dione Somerville as the institution’s new president. She began her new job on June 15.
“I am truly honored and humbled to be selected as president of Owens Community College,” said Dr. Somerville. “I value Owens’ legacy as an institution that creates opportunity for its students and greater community and will strive to further that tradition. I look forward to working in partnership with the students, faculty, staff, board of trustees, and the community to continue Owens’ forward momentum.”
Owens Community College enrolls more than 9,300 students, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education. African Americans make up 9 percent of the student body.
Dr. Somerville began her 27-year career in higher education as the assistant director of campus programming at Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, Ohio. She has held leadership positions at Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine, Lorain County Community College, Iowa State University, Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania, and most recently Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, Iowa, where she was executive vice president.
Dr. Somerville earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Ohio Northern University. She holds a master’s degree in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania.
