{"id":168591,"date":"2026-08-04T15:00:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T19:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.nmc.edu\/?p=168591"},"modified":"2026-08-10T11:42:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T15:42:23","slug":"preparing-nmc-for-its-next-chapter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nmc.edu\/?p=168591","title":{"rendered":"Preparing NMC for its next chapter"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"gmail_default\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, sans-serif;\">Dear Colleagues,<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div class=\"gmail_default\">After much thought, Stephen Siciliano has shared his plans to retire in June 2027, concluding an extraordinary career at Northwestern Michigan College.<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div class=\"gmail_default\">Stephen&#8217;s own educational journey began at a community college, an experience that shaped the way he has led throughout his career. For more than 40 years, he has helped build the modern academic identity of NMC while living our mission of transforming lives and enriching communities. Whether expanding transfer opportunities, helping launch Michigan&#8217;s first community college bachelor&#8217;s degree, mentoring colleagues, or continuing to teach while serving as chief academic officer, Stephen has led with quiet humility, unwavering integrity and genuine care for others. His influence can be seen not only in our academic programs, but in the culture of service that continues to define our college.<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div class=\"gmail_default\">We&#8217;ll have many opportunities over the coming year to celebrate Stephen&#8217;s remarkable career and thank him for the lasting impact he has had on NMC. His planned retirement also gives us something equally important: time.<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div class=\"gmail_default\">One of my most important responsibilities as president is to ensure leadership transitions strengthen the college, not simply replace individuals. Rather than waiting until leadership changes occur, we&#8217;re using the coming year to thoughtfully prepare for NMC&#8217;s next chapter by strengthening leadership continuity and evaluating how responsibilities are organized across the institution.<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div class=\"gmail_default\">To support that work, Jason Slade has been selected to succeed Stephen as Senior Vice President, effective May 2027. Jason will assume Stephen&#8217;s academic leadership responsibilities and serve as NMC\u2019s Chief Academic Officer. As a former faculty member, academic leader<span class=\"gmail_default\">,<\/span> and strategist, Jason led implementation of NMC&#8217;s previous strategic plan and helped shape the development of our current strategic plan. He has consistently demonstrated the ability to translate institutional priorities into meaningful action.<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div class=\"gmail_default\">I am also pleased to announce that <span class=\"il\">Diana<\/span> Fairbanks has been selected to serve as Vice President, effective May 2027, assuming leadership of the college&#8217;s strategic initiatives portfolio. <span class=\"il\">Diana<\/span> worked closely with Jason to help shape the college&#8217;s current strategic plan and has played a key role in helping the college align strategy, communications<span class=\"gmail_default\">,<\/span> and organizational change around our institutional priorities. Her deep knowledge of NMC, strong community relationships, and expertise in strategic communications and change leadership will help keep the college aligned around where we&#8217;re headed while helping the organization navigate change. <span class=\"il\">Diana<\/span> will continue to work closely with Jason to advance the College\u2019s strategic initiatives.<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div class=\"gmail_default\">Selecting experienced internal leaders allows us to build on existing strengths while maintaining momentum during this important period of transition. Jason and <span class=\"il\">Diana<\/span> bring complementary experience, deep institutional knowledge<span class=\"gmail_default\">,<\/span> and a shared commitment to NMC&#8217;s mission.<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div class=\"gmail_default\">For most employees, there will be no immediate changes to reporting relationships, responsibilities or day-to-day work. While the future leadership appointments have been made, the organizational changes that support those transitions will be thoughtfully developed over the coming year, engaging the right people at the right time and communicating updates as the work progresses. Both Jason and <span class=\"il\">Diana<\/span> will formally assume their new roles in May 2027, coinciding with Stephen\u2019s retirement. They will immediately, informally begin the transitioning process, and seek to navigate the learning curve that these new roles demand.<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div class=\"gmail_default\">Please join me in congratulating Stephen on an extraordinary career<span class=\"gmail_default\">,<\/span> and in congratulating Jason and <span class=\"il\">Diana<\/span> on their future leadership roles. I look forward to working with all of you as we prepare NMC for its next chapter.<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div class=\"gmail_default\">Nick<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Colleagues, \u00a0 After much thought, Stephen Siciliano has shared his plans to retire in June 2027, concluding an extraordinary career at Northwestern Michigan College. \u00a0 Stephen&#8217;s own educational journey began at a community college, an experience that shaped the way he has led throughout his career. For more than 40 years, he has helped [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-168591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-intercom","category-presidents-update"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Preparing NMC for its next chapter - NMC Communiqu\u00e9<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.nmc.edu\/?p=168591\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Preparing NMC for its next chapter - NMC Communiqu\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dear Colleagues, \u00a0 After much thought, Stephen Siciliano has shared his plans to retire in June 2027, concluding an extraordinary career at Northwestern Michigan College. \u00a0 Stephen&#8217;s own educational journey began at a community college, an experience that shaped the way he has led throughout his career. 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