Sandra J. Doran

Sandra J. Doran J.D. was unanimously elected by Bay Path University’s board of trustees to be the university’s sixth president. She began her tenure on June 30, 2020. President Doran believes that a college presidency is not a career choice, it is a very specific calling that serves both a personal and institutional purpose. Her distinguished career as an academic leader, senior executive in the corporate sector, lawyer, innovator, and battle-tested entrepreneur, has provided her with a unique skillset that she will utilize to ensure that Bay Path University continues to excel in pursuing its core mission of empowering undergraduate women and graduate women and men to become leaders in their careers and communities.

Ms. Doran most recently served as president of Salem Academy and College, the country’s oldest women’s college, founded in 1772. Doran arrived to Salem College with the goal of restoring the institution’s focus on relevancy and sustainability, and to develop a coherent vision and plan for the future. Doran, who possesses a deep professional and personal commitment to women’s education, concentrates on empowering women to succeed, and to be change agents in their work, families and communities. This challenge requires creative problem solving, nimbleness, the ability to pivot and the advanced skills necessary to design and implement growth strategies to provide a vibrant student experience. Two years after Doran’s arrival, Salem Academy and College was financially stable, with a true entrepreneurial and innovative mindset, focused on educating women for the 21st century with a personalized student learning experience that is transformative. Doran and the business faculty created an entrepreneurial makerspace in downtown Winston-Salem where students could work directly with the city’s innovation ecosystem. Doran’s pioneering efforts were acknowledged with two prestigious awards for her work at Salem College: Triad Business Journal’s Most Admired CEO, and Power Player of 2019.

Prior to joining Salem, while serving as National Policy Director for The New England Board of Higher Education, Doran was responsible for creating and implementing an innovative initiative for multi-state collaboration to increase educational attainment and access for students through online, hybrid, and distance education. As previously noted, innovation and entrepreneurship have always been a passion for Doran. While serving as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ. she served as the CEO of Castle Point Learning Systems, a Stevens Institute supported educational technology start-up that had developed an instructional framework for calculus, enabling students and teachers to develop a more robust foundation for higher-level mathematics.

Previously, Doran served as the President of American College of Education, an online doctoral institution, serving more than 3500 students, that offers masters and doctorate programs and is firmly committed to its mission of providing affordability and access to thoughtful leaders in education. Doran built a culture of inclusion and collaboration, focusing on connecting faculty and students through the use of state-of-the-art technology tools.

During her tenure as Vice President, General Counsel and Chief of Staff at Lesley University, a highly-personalized private university, Doran came to realize that higher education was her passion and her calling. She directed the major initiatives of the President’s Office through coordination and oversight of the University’s executive management team.

As Chief Legal Officer for Shaw’s Supermarkets, one of New England’s largest supermarket chains, Doran was a key member of the executive team responsible, for the growth of the company from $100 million to $2 billion in revenue. In addition to her work as General Counsel, she oversaw the company’s mergers and acquisition portfolio which included the acquisition of Star Market’s Inc.

Ms. Doran received her BA in Political Science from Southern Methodist University, and her Juris Doctorate degree from the Syracuse University School of Law. Doran currently serves as Board chair for AAQEP (Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation) and is a board member of OLC (Online Learning Consortium).

President Doran is looking forward to building on Dr. Carol Leary’s legacy of achievement at Bay Path University. She and her husband Steve moved to Longmeadow in June, and reside in the president’s house where they plan to host Bay Path students, faculty and community members frequently. They will continue to cheer for the Celtics, Bruins, Red Sox and Patriots.