Under Dr. Ed Massey’s leadership, Indian River State College was named the number one college in the nation in April 2019, winning the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America’s community colleges. Dr. Massey was appointed as Indian River State College’s third president in 1988 and retired in August of 2020.
He earned his Ph.D. in Zoology, with an emphasis in Marine Biochemistry from the University of Southern Mississippi and completed advanced studies in Evolutionary Biochemistry at Duke University.
Dr. Massey is a fixture of leadership on the local, state, and national level. He served as the Chairman of the Florida Articulation Coordinating Committee for more than 20 years and served on several boards including the American Association of Community Colleges, National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and others.
In recognition of his outstanding leadership, Dr. Massey has received the 2013 Association of Community College Trustees Southern Regional Chief Executive Officer Award and Marie Y. Martin Chief Executive Award, the 2013 Peter Hegener Leadership Award and the 2008 Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction.
Dr. Massey is a devoted family man to his wife of 54 years, Jo, three children, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
David Rutledge received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Tennessee State University and has studied at both Harvard Law School and the University of Michigan Law School. He holds an honorary doctoral degree from Eastern Michigan University.
David’s work history includes both public and higher education experiences. He has chaired both the Washtenaw Community College Board of Trustees in Ann Arbor, Michigan and the ACCT Board of Directors (2003-2004). From 2011 through 2016, he served as a Michigan State Representative, and he presently serves on the faculty at Central Michigan University, holding the position of Griffin Endowed Chair in the Political Science Department. He is a Viet Nam era military veteran having served in the United States Air Force as a Personnel Officer achieving the rank of Captain.
David has served on state commissions appointed by two governors from different political parties. He currently serves at the pleasure of the governor on the Michigan Veterans Facility Authority Board. Because of his leadership and service to his community and the State of Michigan, David has been honored by the Ann Arbor News as its Citizen of the Year.
David’s wife, Geraldine Simmons Rutledge, an elementary school teacher passed in 2015. They have two children, Marcus Rutledge and Felicia Rutledge Thomas, and two grandchildren, Kelton Patton of Ypsilanti and Darius Rutledge of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.