Gogebic Community College is breaking up its vice president positions into smaller leadership roles after losing its president and all three VPs in roughly a year.

Interim president Richard Shrubb told the Daily Globe that the wave of departures gave the Ironwood college an opening to rethink its top-heavy structure. The first visible result: the Vice President of Student Services title is gone, replaced by a Dean of Students position posted July 28 at $97,871 annually.

"We felt like having a bigger administrative middle layer would be better for the college," Shrubb said. "We are splitting up those vice presidents' jobs that are now vacated into deans, directors and coordinators. It provides a bigger middle for faculty and student contact."

The turnover started at the top. President Chris Patritto announced his resignation in February and left effective July 1. Patritto had led GCC since January 2024, coming out of retirement after serving as the Hurley School District administrator. All three vice presidents also resigned over the past year to pursue other opportunities, according to the Globe. The VP of Business Services slot has been empty for more than a year; the VP of Student Services and VP of Academic Services positions became vacant this summer.

To stabilize operations, the Board of Trustees brought in two interim executives. Shrubb, who previously led Minnesota West Community and Technical College from 2008 to 2014, started June 1. Terri L. Winfree, former president of Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, Illinois, began Aug. 17 as interim Vice President of Academics.

Board chairperson Susan Beals said in GCC's announcement of Winfree's hire that she is confident the two interim leaders will guide the college through the transition and position it for the future.

The new Dean of Students will oversee admissions, enrollment management, financial aid, marketing, community relations, student activities, the Student Success Center and TRIO grant programs. Athletics oversight, previously bundled into the VP of Student Services job, has been carved out; a staff member is handling it on a stipend basis while the college decides on a permanent arrangement.

Shrubb said the duties were developed over several weeks by the President's Advisory Table, a group that includes representatives from human resources, student services, the chief financial officer and faculty. Because the dean title is classified as an internal position rather than an executive one, the Board of Trustees does not need to approve the hire.

More than a dozen candidates had applied as of Thursday, Aug. 20.

The VP of Business Services role may undergo a similar conversion. Shrubb said current finance staff are handling those duties while the college awaits its new fiscal year budget, and no decision has been made on what the restructured title will look like.

GCC serves roughly 880 undergraduate students across its main Ironwood campus and its Copper Country Center in Houghton. No timeline has been announced for a permanent presidential search.