New CEO
Mark Sorrells will serve as the fifth president of Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC) in North Carolina, effective January 1, 2023. He is currently the college’s senior vice president for academic and student services, a position he has held since joining the college in 2019.
Under his leadership, FTCC has worked with private and public partners to identify critical needs in economic and workforce development and develop solutions to address them, according to the college. It has resulted in several efforts, such as boosting healthcare programs, including nursing and respiratory programs, and a statewide partnership to address needed skills and workforce shortages in the cybersecurity field.
Prior to FTCC, Sorrells spent 17 years at the Golden LEAF Foundation, including 14 years as its senior vice president. Earlier in his career, he was executive director of North Carolina REAL Enterprises, a statewide organization implementing entrepreneurial education in participating schools and community colleges as an economic development strategy for rural communities. Sorrells’ career in higher education began at Haywood Community College (North Carolina) as a business administration instructor in 1985.
Kudos
Anthony J. Iacono, president of County College of Morris (CCM), has again been named among the top higher education leaders in New Jersey, making both ROI-NJ’s list of the Top 25 Most Influential Presidents and NJBIZ’s Power 50 in Education. In its ranking, ROI-NJ, a business publication, credited Iacono for leading CCM to become a comprehensive college focused on the needs of the community, benefiting many diverse individuals. It noted CCM is recognized as a leader in advanced manufacturing education. Regarding the Power 50 listing, it is the fourth consecutive year that the publication has recognized Iacono.
Obituary
Mary Retterer, who served as president of California’s Cerro Coso Community College from 2007 until her retirement in 2010, passed away on September 8.
Over a career that spanned more than 35 years, Retterer — herself a community college graduate — was superintendent/president of the Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint Community College District from 2004 to 2006. She also was president of Pima Community College’s East Campus in Arizona from 1998 to 2004.
Earlier in her career, Retterer held various top-level administrative positions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, including president of Ridgewater College in Wilmar and Hutchison. She also served as interim regional president of the Arrowhead Community College Region, interim president of Minneapolis Community College and dean at Rainy River Community College.
Retterer began her educational career teaching at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in 1980. She taught business and accounting in the San Bernardino Community College District from 1981 to 1993, and at the University of Texas at Austin.
“She was a dynamic leader with a wealth of experience in community colleges, including colleges with centers in rural areas,” Cerro Coso said in a release announcing Retterer’s passing. “Her prior experience with the California Community College System provided a valuable foundation from which she led the college in a strategic direction to meet the needs of the college’s diverse service area.”
Appointments
Kelly Winters, executive director of workforce development for the College of Southern Maryland (CSM), has been appointed to the board of directors for Health Partners, a non-profit clinic that provides healthcare for local residents who cannot otherwise afford it. Winters, a CSM alumna, worked as a nurse for many years before joining the CSM staff.
In Wyoming, Laramie County Community College has hired two new vice presidents. Nancy Olson is now the college’s vice president of human resources and Title IX deputy coordinator, and Dustin Eicke is vice president of performance and planning.
Previously, Olson was chief human resources officer/affirmative action officer at Southwest Minnesota State University. Eicke was director of institutional research at Western Nebraska Community College.
