Dr. Ruby Simmonds will be appointed Education commissioner, a source close to the administration confirmed Friday.
"She's been spoken to, she's accepted and she's making her move to leave UVI," the person said.
Simmonds, a former senator, chairs the Humanities Division at the University of the Virgin Islands. She was deputy commissioner of Education when Gov. Charles W. Turnbull was commissioner in the Luis administration. She left the territory to earn a PhD, then returned to teach English at UVI before being named head of humanities.
She reportedly will move to her new post in early February, taking over from Mario Golden who was named acting commissioner after Turnbull was sworn into office.
Simmonds' appointment was the second Cabinet post to be made public Friday.
The Daily News reported that Dr. Wilbur Callender, a gynecologist-obstetrician, will be named Health commissioner and quietly assumed that post Monday. Raymond "Bobby" James, who had been named acting commissioner, has returned to his job in Health's financial services division.
Callender was medical director at the Roy L. Schneider Hospital during the Farrelly administration.
