Governor Deval Patrick is shaking up the board of trustees at embattled Roxbury Community College, replacing four of its current seven members, including the chairwoman, and adding two new ones to fill vacant seats.
The new trustees “arrive at crucial time for this institution,” Paul Reville, the state’s secretary of education, said in a statement.
The college is under investigation by both the US Department of Education and the state auditor’s office for possible lapses in crime reporting as well as a range of management issues. Those inquiries played a role in Terrence Gomes’s decision to retire from the RCC presidency in June, and also prompted the college to initiate an inquiry led by former US attorney Wayne Budd.
According to campus officials, some outgoing board members probably were aware years ago of allegations related to the investigations, although it is unclear who knew which details.
RCC’s new board chairwoman will be Kathy Taylor, executive director of The Black Philanthropy Fund, which works with neighborhood organizations and institutions across the state. She has extensive experience in education, including a master’s degree in the field from Lesley University.
Taylor grew up in Roxbury, where much of her family still lives, and said she remembered when the school debuted in 1973 to great fanfare.
The college needs a new president able to forge partnerships with local businesses, she said, and a strategy to “make sure we attract the right students, rather than having people bypass us to go to another community college.”
Taylor will replace board chairwoman Anita Crawford, president and chief executive of Roxbury Comprehensive Community Health Center.
Also leaving the board are:
■ Michele Courton Brown, chief operating officer of the education reform organization the Efficacy Institute and a former RCC board chairwoman.
■ John Cruz, president and chief executive of an eponymous construction company.
■ Russell Aims, chief of staff of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine.
In their place will be:
■ Glynn Lloyd, founder and chief executive at Dorchester’s City Fresh Foods.
■ Michael Curry, legislative affairs director for the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers.
■ Jeffrey Greenberg, an associate medical director for the Brigham and Women’s Physician Organization.
Two other new trustees are joining RCC’s board:
■ Beth Williams, chief executive of Roxbury Technology Corp., which transforms worn-out printer cartridges into “remanufactured” ones.
■ Mark Culliton, an education activist and chief executive of College Bound Dorchester.
Janet Owens, a consultant, was on the board until June, when she resigned. In addition, a student trustee is elected every year. One vacant seat, not including one set aside for the student trustee, remains on RCC’s board. That appointment probably will be made in the next few weeks.
Patrick announced that he would reappoint Steven Tompkins, chief of external affairs for the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, who is the board vice chairman. Current board members Roslyn Marshall and Stanley Wong will also stay in place.