Gov. Chris Sununu has nominated Will Arvelo, president of Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth, to serve as the next director of the NH Division of Economic Development. The nomination will need approval from the Executive Council.
The director of the NH Division of Economic Development is a new position, which includes supervising the division budget, attracting new workers and retention of the current work force, and managing a team of 25 for a term of four years. Arvelo was recommended for the position by the state’s commissioner of business and economic affairs, Taylor Caswell.
Arvelo was named president of Great Bay Community College in 2007. He began his higher education career at Bunker Hill Community College in 1985 in the advising, financial aid and admissions departments. He continued to serve in admissions managerial positions at additional greater Boston area colleges, before joining Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, where he became vice president for corporate and external relations.
At Great Bay, Arvelo oversaw a $15 million renovation of the former Air Force base hospital at Pease International Tradeport and the subsequent move of the entire college’s operations from its former Stratham location to the newly-renovated Portsmouth location in 2009. He also oversaw a $4.5 million renovation to create an advanced manufacturing branch campus in Rochester.
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