Alabama’s New Commissioner on Higher Ed Returning Home from Rhode Island

According to the Associated Press, Alabama native James E. Purcell is stepping down as Rhode Island’s Commissioner of Higher Education to assume the equivalent role in Alabama— Executive Director of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education.

Rhode Island named the 55-year-old Purcell to the post in June of 2014, and Friday the Providence Journal quoted him as saying:

“I am proud of what we have accomplished in Rhode Island over the past three years to increase the number of Rhode Islanders with college degrees, make college more affordable, collaborate with industry partners, and help our institutions to better serve their students and the state. I look forward to continuing this work in my home state of Alabama, and I am grateful to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education for their confidence in me.”

Purcell returns to his home state where earned a doctorate in higher education and administration from the University of Alabama, a master’s degree in counseling from the University of Montevallo, and a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Auburn University. He will assume the role at ACHE previously occupied by Dr. Gregory Fitch, who held the position from 2006 until his retirement in the summer of 2016, when Mr. Tim Vick stepped in as Interim Executive Director.

In this new role, Dr. Purcell will lead the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, which seeks to “provide reasonable access to quality collegiate and university education for the citizens of Alabama.”

The Providence Journal also quoted a biographical sketch of Dr. Purcell’s that read: “Having spent more than 25 years on the frontlines of education and economic development in five states, Dr. Purcell’s core belief is that the key to unlocking the American Dream in every person’s life is education.”