President Steve Katona retired, David Hales becomes 5th president. 

After 13 years as College of the Atlantic’s president (and 24 years at COA overall), Steve Katona retired in 2006. Over his presidency, he ushered COA into a new era, from the 1900’s to the 2000’s! He saw the expansion of COA’s student body, campus, tele-connectedness and international reach. COA changed immensely over the course of his time at the college, and he was a grounding presence that reminded others of the founding mission and principles of the school. 

David Hales inaugurated as the 5th college president. Hales grew up in West Texas, and his early career was dedicated to sustainability and environmentalism. He earned two Political Science degrees, one from Hardin-Simmons university and one from University of Oklahoma. He was on the Counsel for Sustainability at Worldwatch Institute and was the director of the Global Environment Center of the United States Agency for International Development under president Clinton. He also served as the deputy assistant secretary at the United States Department of the Interior, handling matters related to the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife service. These positions gave him ample experience in administrative processes, which he applied while working in academia at the University of Michigan before coming to COA. Throughout his career, he kept his dedication to the environment at the forefront of all his endeavors. This held true during his term at COA, in which he nurtured the college’s idealistic ideas into actionable steps towards a more sustainable and human-ecological future. 

To learn more, check out our Office of the President Collection, or articles in the COA magazine about Katona and Hales.