Lindsey Interlante Named Executive Director of the Five Colleges of Ohio, Inc.

Posted on February 9, 2022

The Five Colleges of Ohio announced today that Lindsey Interlante, Executive Director of the Colonial Academic Alliance, will become the Ohio Five’s next Executive Director on July 1. She will succeed current Executive Director Sarah Stone, who last spring announced plans to retire at the end of the 2021-22 academic year.

“We are delighted to have recruited such an excellent new leader for the Ohio Five," commented Ohio Five Board of Trustees chair Sarah Bolton.  "The five college consortium is a tremendous strength for our institutions, and it presents great opportunities for the future.  Lindsey Interlante’s deep experience with consortia and her vision for the impacts they can make was compelling to everyone who met with her during the interview process.  She is poised and excited to build on the great work that Sarah Stone has led.”

Lindsey Interlante brings an impressive depth of experience in higher education and consortial leadership to the Ohio Five. During her seven-year tenure with the Colonial Academic Alliance, she revitalized the organization, conceptualizing and implementing the Innovate/Collaborate Grant program. Through IN/CO, the Alliance mobilized nearly half a million dollars in IN/CO Grant funding to address pressing policy challenges across its ten member institutions, which include the College of Charleston, University of Delaware, Drexel University, Elon University, Hofstra University, James Madison University, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Northeastern University, Towson University, and William & Mary. The success of these initiatives allowed the Alliance to attract over a quarter million dollars in support from new funding partners and strengthen intercollegiate academic collaboration across the Alliance.

As Director of Institutional Effectiveness at the Virginia Community College System from 2012-2014, Lindsey Interlante worked with its 23 members to address institutional priorities – including improving outcomes for underserved students and increasing diversity – by analyzing and deploying underused data, conducting multi-institution conferences on assessment and strategic planning, and implementing an innovative state-wide assessment of student learning outcomes. She led planning, data reporting and assessment activities for the Drexel University Office of Institutional Research, Assessment and Effectiveness and worked as a researcher for senior leadership at the American Association of Community Colleges, the Institute for Public Administration at the University of Delaware, and the Delaware Office of Management and Budget.  She also managed the $20 million grant program of the New Jersey Highlands Council, supporting work in agricultural land preservation and protection of land and water resources in Northern New Jersey.

“I am honored to be the next Executive Director of the Five Colleges of Ohio. In this time of rapid change, the power and potential of collaboration is greater than ever before – particularly for a consortium with the Ohio Five’s record of success and sustained commitment,” commented Lindsey Interlante. “I look forward to working with the dedicated Five Colleges staff, exploring new opportunities for shared initiatives, and continuing to add significant value for this extraordinary group of institutions.”

Lindsey Interlante received a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Delaware, in 2007, a master’s degree in geography from Arizona State University in 2010, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from The College of New Jersey in 2005. She anticipates the completion of a Ph.D. in Urban Affairs and Public Policy from the University of Delaware in May 2022. She also has a record of scholarship in urban policy, economic development, and student success, publishing in Economic Development Quarterly, the Municipal Finance Journal, and Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges. Within the past year, Interlante has also presented at the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management Conference, the National Tax Association National Conference, and at the American Association of Colleges and Universities’ 2022 Annual Meeting, Educating for Democracy.