Southern State Community College has announced that Dr. Erika Goodwin has been appointed its next Vice President of Academic Affairs beginning June 1.
She will replace Dr. Nicole Roades who was named the College’s sixth President. Goodwin comes to Southern State from Wilmington College where she has had a 27-year career as both a senior staff member, most recently Provost and Chief of Staff, and as a tenured full professor of Sport Sciences and Athletic Training.
“I am honored and thrilled to begin this appointment and work with Dr. Roades, the faculty, staff and students at Southern State and have some overlap with Dr. Kevin Boys as he transitions out of the Presidency to retirement. I have had the good fortune of working with both Dr. Boys and Dr. Roades over the years on mutual projects for our respective institutions and have a great deal of respect for them and the work they do in the community college sector. I have had a wonderful career at Wilmington College and will miss my colleagues and students there but this opportunity will begin the next chapter of my higher education career and I am excited to begin my work with Southern State.”
“I am beyond delighted to begin working with Dr. Goodwin as a fellow team member of Southern State. I am overjoyed that she has chosen to share her extensive experience and expertise with us and our students—June 1 can’t come quickly enough,” commented Dr. Roades.
Goodwin is a lifelong resident of Clinton County and has strong ties to Southwestern Ohio. “I have often said that this is not a job to me but my calling. My roots and passion run deep for higher education and I am particularly drawn to Southern State’s mission to ‘provide accessible, affordable and high-quality education to people in southern Ohio.’ I embrace Southern State’s values of community engagement, personal connection, unity and life enrichment.”
Dr. Goodwin served as the interim President of Wilmington College in 2020, the first female to hold that role. She was the long time Vice President for Academic Affairs and Strategic Initiatives/ Dean of Faculty (2011- 2020) for Wilmington College as well. She also served Wilmington as its accreditation liaison officer to its regional accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission. She will serve in that role for Southern State as well. Additionally, Goodwin is a peer reviewer with the Higher Learning Commission, Chicago, Illinois.
Goodwin is an alumna of Southern State Community College where she studied to become an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) after completing her BS from Wilmington College in Athletic Training and a Master’s degree from Wright State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration and Athletic Training from Union Institute and University.
Her tenure as a long-standing faculty member at Wilmington is highlighted by her being a co-author of over 200 athletic training student research projects (2004-2022), over 120 have been presented at state, district and national conferences and/or been published. She was a 2015 Inductee in Outstanding Women of Clinton County, and a member of Leadership Clinton, Class of 2010.
“I am looking forward to working with the leadership team at Southern State as it transitions its president and I assume a new vice president role. I am eager to help lead them through their current strategic plan that focuses on enrollment and market expansion, increasing student persistence and success and achieving stronger financial health for the institution.”
Goodwin and her husband, Brad, live on a farm just north of Wilmington with their daughters, Emily and Gracie.
