The board of trustees of Westfield State University in Massachusetts, has appointed Elizabeth H. Preston as interim president. The university, near the city of Springfield, enrolls just over 6,000 students. Women make up 53 percent of the undergraduate student body.
Dr. Preston was serving as vice president for student affairs. She will replace former president Evan S. Dobelle, who resigned earlier this month after university auditors alleged that he used university credit cards for personal expenses.
Dr. Preston has served on the faculty at Westfield State for 24 years and holds a tenured post as a professor of communication. She is a graduate of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, where she majored in English. Professor Preston earned master’s and doctoral degrees in communication at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
The board of trustees stated that Dr. Preston will likely serve as president for at least the remainder of the academic year.