New CEO
Tabitha Miller will serve as the 10th president of North Carolina’s Martin Community College (MCC), effective May 1.
Miller has served as the college’s vice president/chief academic officer since July 2019 and has helped to lead programs such as the college’s transfer efforts, program development and implementation, curriculum development and student success initiatives. She also has worked to strengthen partnerships with local education institutions, from K-12 systems to universities, through programs such as early college and collaborations on nursing education.
Prior to MCC, Miller served 11 years in various roles at Pitt Community College (North Carolina), including Title III director, senior director of teaching and learning, and English instructor. She began her community college career when she moved to North Carolina in 2002 to teach at Coastal Carolina Community College.
Kudos
Charles M. Roessel, president of Diné College (Arizona), is the American Indian College Fund’s 2023-2024 Tribal College President of the Year. The honor recognizes a distinguished individual who has made a positive and lasting impact on the tribal college movement. Under Roessel’s leadership, Diné College has grown into a four-year institution with a focus on creativity and innovation, according to a release. He opened the School of Transformation, a non-degree-seeking certificate program that provides professional development, continuing education units, training programs and self-directed courses. Roessel is leading the college toward several goals: enroll 3,000 students by 2030, offer three master’s programs by next year, and be relevant for both the Navajo nation and the region.
Roessel’s parents, Robert and Ruth Roessel, played key roles in creating Navajo Community College (now Diné College), the first tribal college, in 1968. His father served as the institution’s first president.
Kate Smith, president of Rio Salado College in Arizona, is one of 18 community college administrators nationwide to be honored with Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society’s Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction. Recipients are nominated by students on their campus and are only eligible to receive the award once in their career.
Smith has shown support of student success initiatives, leading to stronger pathways to completion, transfer and employment, according to a release. She has taken an active interest in supporting high-achieving students and developing student leaders on campus. In 2013, Smith was named Woman of the Year by the Arizona Women in Higher Education for her advocacy for student success on all levels.
Appointments
Lee D. Lambert, chancellor of Foothill-De Anza Community College District (California), has been appointed to the 30-member Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship to advise the U.S. labor secretary on issues related to the national apprenticeship system. The Department of Labor selected leaders from across the registered apprenticeship system, including employers, labor-management organizations, advocacy groups and other organizations, to serve a two-year term. Representatives from the U.S. departments of Commerce, Education, Energy, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services and the Office of Personnel Management serve as ex-officio committee members.
