Norwich – The first college presidential candidate to tour Three Rivers Community College will be Dale Allen, a 20-year veteran of higher education who currently is vice president for community engagement at Quinsigamond Community College in Massachusetts.

Allen, who will tour the campus Monday, will be the first of three college presidential finalists to visit Three Rivers in the coming week. The state Board of Regents for Higher Education is identifying candidates one or two days prior to their visits. Allen will meet with students and members of the community Monday at 10 a.m. in the college multipurpose room, and with faculty and staff at 11 a.m. Both sessions are open to the public.

Allen then will have private meetings with college officials and a formal interview in Hartford.

The second as yet unnamed candidate will follow the same schedule on Tuesday, and the third will visit May 12.

Current Three Rivers President Grace Jones plans to retire June 30.

According to a biography posted by the board of regents, Allen has worked in higher education for the past 20 years and specializes in “advancing connections between colleges and the various communities with which they interact.” Since February 2013, he has served as a special assistant to the Massachusetts Commissioner of Higher Education, on loan from QCC. In that role, he has worked on developing career pathways for students in eight two- and four-year colleges. He is an active participant in national policy discussions and presentations on transforming higher education to remove barriers and to enable more graduations to occur.

Allen earned his doctorate in public policy at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. He received a certificate of advanced study in student personnel administration in higher education, a master's of education in athletic administration and a bachelor of science in sports biology from Springfield College.

c.bessette@theday.com