BANGOR – Husson College has a new chief academic officer and dean of graduate studies.

Richard Stephens, former vice president for academic affairs and academic dean at Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Mass., will oversee the education of 2,200 students in Husson’s business, health, education, and science and humanities schools.

“His collegial style is just what we need as our on-campus undergraduate enrollment and undergraduate offerings expand and we move into doctoral education,” said Husson President William Beardsley. He announced the appointment Wednesday in a news release.

A graduate of Greenville College in Illinois, Stephens earned a master’s degree in philosophy and a doctorate at the University of Kansas. He has taught at a variety of higher education institutions including the University of Nizhni Novgorod in Russia.

Stephens, whose appointment was effective June 1, succeeds the late Robert M. Smith who had served as graduate dean and chief academic officer for the past 25 years.