Cox College names new president

Cox College hired a new president nearly five months after its three-year leader stepped down.

Amy DeMelo succeeds Lance Ratcliff, who left to pursue other opportunities. Retired CoxHealth executive Robert Lunn served in an interim capacity, according to a news release.

The Cox College Board of Trustees’ national search yielded the selection of an internal candidate. DeMelo has worked since 2014 as the college’s vice president for academic affairs. In the position, she helped establish master’s degrees in nursing and occupational therapy and develop night and weekend programs for nursing students. Those classes are scheduled to start in January.

“We wanted to find the perfect candidate for this position, and even though we looked across the country to find the right fit, we were blessed to find the right person already here at Cox College,” board Chairwoman Jan Harris said in the release.

DeMelo worked 2007-14 as director of Springfield Catholic Schools, when she led a $13.9 million renovation and expansion campaign and helped the system become nationally recognized.

“This is an exciting time to be involved in health care and education, and I’m looking forward to being involved in the many opportunities ahead of Cox College,” she said in the release.

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