The Yavapai College Verde Valley campus in Clarkdale has a new dean.

James Perey took over for outgoing dean Tom Schumacher on Monday, June 18, and said he has been busy getting the “pulse” of what is going on in the area since then.

One of the challenges of finding the pulse: Perey doesn’t have a permanent office – or even a campus.

Because the Verde Valley campus is currently closed while crews work on a multimillion dollar construction and renovation project, Perey has been using an office in Sedona for the past week and a half.

For the past four years, Perey worked as a division dean at Yavapai College in Chino Valley. He has a background in building and launching new academic programs, including the recently created viticulture and enology program at the Verde Valley campus.

For the full story, see the Wednesday, July 4, edition of The Camp Verde Journal or the Cottonwood Journal Extra.