Richard Bailey, Jr.
Richard Bailey, Jr.
Northern President Richard J. Bailey, Jr. and his wife Diana joined the Northern family in October 2016, after a twenty-four year career in the United States Air Force.
Dr. Bailey received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Sciences from the U.S. Air Force Academy, a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Washington University in St. Louis, and a doctorate in Government from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
Before assuming the presidency at Northern, Dr. Bailey served as associate professor of strategy and security studies at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies at Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. He also served as the school’s first-ever Dean of Students. President Bailey serves as an advisor to the Northern New Mexico College Foundation, and as a board member of the Cancer Foundation for New Mexico, Las Cumbres Community Services, the Air University Board of Visitors and the Española Public Schools Education Foundation.
Northern New Mexico College President Richard J. Bailey, Jr. started his service to the institution in October 2016, after a twenty-four year career in the United States Air Force as a pilot, commander, and educator. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Sciences from the U.S. Air Force Academy, a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Washington University in St. Louis, and a doctorate in Government from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
During President Bailey’s tenure at Northern New Mexico College, the institution crafted a Strategic Direction document, revised its faculty handbook for the first time in a decade, completed successful renegotiations of collective bargaining agreements with faculty and staff for the first time since 2008, increased enrollment by over 10%, and nearly doubled its bachelor’s degree graduation rate. The institution boasts the most affordable tuition and fees of any four-year college in the southwest United States, the third lowest average student debt upon graduation of any four-year college in the country, and the top performing High School Equivalency program in the nation for the second year in a row. Northern New Mexico College is also the proud recipient of the 2019 Organization of the Year award from the Greater Española Valley Chamber of Commerce and the 2019 New Mexico STEMY award winner as the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Higher Education Institution of the Year.