Dana Mohler-Faria was the eleventh

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Bridgewater State University Bridgewater State University is a public university with its main campus in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. It is the largest of nine state universities in Massachusetts. Including its off-campus sites in New Bedford, Attleboro, and Cape Cod, BSU ha ...

serving from 2002 until his retirement in 2015. and a member of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. He was formerly the Special Advisor for Education to

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician, civil rights lawyer, author, and businessman who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was first elected in 2006, succeeding Mitt Romney, who ...

prior to the creation of a cabinet-level Secretary of Education in 2008.

Personal life

Mohler-Faria received an

Associate's degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

from

Cape Cod Community College Cape Cod Community College, known locally as "Four Cs", is a public community college in West Barnstable, Massachusetts. It was established in 1961, the second institution to open as part of what is now a 15 community college system in Massachu ...

, a bachelor’s and

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in history from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

, and a

Doctor of Education The Doctor of Education (Ed.D. or D.Ed.; Latin ''Educationis Doctor'' or ''Doctor Educationis'') is (depending on region and university) a research or professional doctoral degree that focuses on the field of education. It prepares the holder for a ...

degree higher education administration from the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

. He is a veteran of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

, serving from 1966 to 1970. He currently resides with his wife and son in

Mashpee, Massachusetts Mashpee ( wam, Mâseepee) is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, on Cape Cod. The population was 15,060 as of 2020. The town is the site of the headquarters and most members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, one of two feder ...

Dana Mohler-Faria, Special Advisor for Education
/ref>

Professional life

From 1975 to 1984, Mohler-Faria was Director of Financial Aid and the SACHEM Outreach Program at

. Following that post, he served as Assistant Dean of Administrative Services at

Bristol Community College Bristol Community College (Bristol) is a public community college with four campuses in Southeastern Massachusetts. History The college was originally established in December 1965 when it was instituted by the Massachusetts Board of Regional Co ...

until 1987, and then in various leadership positions at

Mount Wachusett Community College Mount Wachusett Community College (MWCC) is a public community college in Gardner, Massachusetts. Established by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1963, it features an open admissions policy for the majority of its academic programs. MWCC of ...

until 1991. In 1991 he began his association with

Bridgewater State College Bridgewater State University is a public university with its main campus in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. It is the largest of nine state universities in Massachusetts. Including its off-campus sites in New Bedford, Attleboro, and Cape Cod, BSU h ...

, serving eleven years as the Vice President for Administration and Finance. In 2002, he succeeded

Adrian Tinsley Adrian Tinsley was President of Bridgewater State College from 1989 until 2002 and was their first female President. Education Tinsley was an honors graduate of Bryn Mawr College (1958, psychology) and earned a master’s degree from the University ...

as President of Bridgewater State College.Dana Mohler-Faria, Ed.D.; Eleventh President of Bridgewater State College
df/nowiki> He stepped down at the end of the 2014-2015 academic year. According to his biographical sketch on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' website, Mohler-Faria, in ascending to the presidency of Bridgewater State University, became the "first person of color to lead Bridgewater State College and is only the second Cape Verdean in the United States to be elected the president of a higher education institution." He is currently a member of the advisory council for the Wampanoag Language Immersion School, a partnership between the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project and the Montessori Academy of Cape Cod.

References

External links

Bridgewater State University: Office of the President
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohler-Faria, Dana Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Mashpee, Massachusetts Boston University College of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Education alumni Presidents of the University of Massachusetts system State cabinet secretaries of Massachusetts American people of Cape Verdean descent Bridgewater State University faculty African-American state cabinet secretaries African-American people in Massachusetts politics 21st-century African-American people