Michael A. Rooke, Ph.D.
- Temp Last Modified: 2025-02-04
Michael A. Rooke, Ph.D.
Campus President, Naugatuck Valley and Northwestern
A dedicated higher education leader, Campus President Rooke has worked within the Connecticut community colleges for nearly two decades, with roles at Manchester, Tunxis and Northwestern. He has served as Campus President of CT State Northwestern since 2015, guiding the campus through its transition to the new CT State structure while maintaining a strong focus on student success, academic quality and community impact.
Before his presidency, Campus President Rooke served as Dean of Academic Affairs at Tunxis Community College and as Division Director of Business and Technology at Manchester Community College. In 2020, he was appointed Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs for the newly merged CT State Community College, where he played a key role in systemwide policy and academic coordination. In 2022, after successfully supporting the accreditation review by NECHE, he returned full-time to lead Northwestern. He was named Campus President at CT State Naugatuck Valley in July 2025.
Campus President Rooke has been a statewide leader in advancing equity, access and student-centered innovation. He championed the creation of a student emergency fund and a campus-wide peer mentoring program at Northwestern and was instrumental in launching a common academic calendar across all CSCU institutions. He also played a leadership role in revising developmental education policy, expanding access to credit-bearing courses in English and mathematics.
Earlier in his career, Campus President Rooke was a faculty member at the University of Hartford and held IT and instructional technology leadership roles at Long Island University’s C.W. Post campus. He remains active in his community, serving on the boards of the Northwest CT Chamber of Commerce, American Mural Project and Torrington/Winsted Rotary. He is also a corporator of Hartford HealthCare’s Charlotte Hungerford Hospital and a board member of the Northwest CT Regional Workforce Investment Board.
Campus President Rooke holds a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Kansas State University, an M.S. in Educational Technology from Long Island University, and a B.Sc. in Applied Chemistry from Nottingham Trent University in the UK.

Contact
Phone: 860-738-6410
Email: mike.rooke@ctstate.edu
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