Dr. James R. Whitley
Vice President Academic Affairs/Provost, Roxbury Community College

Background

Dr. James R. Whitley is a passionate higher education leader with more than 20 years of experience building successful academic teams and programs as well as expanding access and creating opportunities for students to complete their degree goals. In January 2025, Dr. Whitley joined Roxbury Community College (RCC) as the Vice President of Academic Affairs/Provost to lead and develop a team of more than 200 higher education professionals and support a steadily growing population of more than 2,100 students.

Prior to joining RCC, Dr. Whitley served as the Dean of the John P. Burke School of Public Service and Education at Post University in Connecticut for over seven years. He has also held earlier roles in higher education administration and teaching at Springfield College, Excelsior College, and Northeastern University.

As a strong believer in community service, Dr. Whitley has volunteered his time to work with dozens of community and human services organizations.

Dr. Whitley is also an accomplished poet with six published collections to his credit. Among his many literary honors, he was awarded the Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award, the Ironweed Press Poetry Prize, the Massachusetts Book Award for the most outstanding collection of poetry published by a Massachusetts author in 2010.

Dr. Whitley earned his Bachelor of Science in Linguistics from Cornell University, his Master of Public Health from Boston University, his Master of Science from the Harvard University School of Public Health and his Juris Doctor from the Northeastern University School of Law.