Retirement announcements
John J. “Ski” Sygielski, president and CEO of HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, has announced his plans to retire from the college on July 18, 2025.
Sygielski is HACC’s longest-serving president, having taken the helm in 2011. Under his leadership, the college has increased student graduation rates by 11% and boosted student retention rates by 6%, expanded dual enrollment and other pre-college programs to create early connections with high school students, and created 75 new academic programs and more than 200 non-credit programs to address workforce needs.
Sygielski is known for his successful and innovative fundraising for HACC, helping to raise more than $28 million for the college’s foundation during his tenure as CEO. He also oversaw $100 million of capital projects and decreased the college’s long-term debt by $55 million (39%), according to a release.
Sygielski is also known for his work in diversity, hiring HACC’s first vice president of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in 2020, and received the Association of Community College Trustees’ Northeast Regional Award and the national Charles Kennedy Equity Award for diversity, equity and inclusion work.
Sygielski has served on the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) board directors and was board chair in 2011. He also was a member of AACC’s 21st Century Commission on the Community Colleges. In addition, he was chair of the board of directors for the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges and served on the Phi Theta Kappa Presidential Advisory Committee.
Among Sygielski’s awards and honors are the prestigious Phi Theta Kappa Shirley B. Gordon Award, the F.R. Geigle Service Award for outstanding service from Northern Illinois University, and the Diversity Influencer of the Year award from the Harrisburg Regional Chamber and Capital Regional Economic Development Corporation. He also was named to Central Penn Business Journal’s 2022 Power 100 List and was an Institute for Citizens and Scholars Fellow.
Prior to HACC, Sygielski was president of Mt. Hood Community College in Oregon, from 2008 to 2011, and he served as president of the recently renamed Laurel Ridge Community College in Virginia, from 2003 to 2008. He also was vice chancellor of workforce education for the Virginia Community College System from 1999 to 2003. Before that, he served at the College of DuPage (Illinois) for nine years in a number of roles, including executive director of economics and workforce development and director/dean of its Business and Professional Institute.
Linda C. Young, president of Wallace Community College-Dothan (WCCD), has announced her plans to retire on October 1. She has led the Alabama college since 1999.
“A lifelong educator and academic administrator, Dr. Linda Young is both a product and pillar of Alabama’s first-class community college system,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement. “Her near four decades of leadership has left a substantial impact by stewarding all three phases of the community college mission: academic transfer, adult education and workforce development.”
Ivey noted that Young’s greatest legacy may be as a trailblazer and innovator in guiding Alabama’s successful healthcare and nursing education programs. “Her efforts will pay dividends for decades to come,” she said.
Young’s career as president began in 1988 with her appointment to Sparks State Technical College. She was the first female to head a technical college in Alabama. Sparks State and WCCD merged in 1999, with Young as the new institution’s president. Previously, Young was executive assistant to the chancellor in the Alabama Community College System and dean of academic affairs at Lurleen B. Wallace Junior College. She also taught and held administrative positions at Enterprise State Junior College, her alma mater, and taught for three years in K-12.
Young is noted for her work in developing special educational programs for adult women. She chaired a legislative committee of the Alabama Coalition of Women and Girls in Education that helped pass a bill that created and funded multi-purpose displaced homemaker programs in Alabama’s two-year colleges, according to a release. In recognition of the work, Young was one of five women in the state honored by the American Society for Public Administration for outstanding contributions to public administration and public service by assisting other women to advance professionally.
In 2017, the American Association of Community Colleges recognized Wallace with its Award of Excellence for Student Success. Among her national and state awards, Young in 2017 received the prestigious Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction from Phi Theta Kappa and was named a 2022 “Woman of Impact” by Yellowhammer News, which recognizes women who impact and propel Alabama through personal and professional accomplishments.
Most recently, Young was named to serve as chair of Leadership Alabama’s board of directors for 2024-25. Leadership Alabama provides leaders with opportunities to connect, collaborate and learn about key issues affecting the state, fostering a collective effort to improve Alabama’s future.
“From workforce and economic development achievements, to her commitment to serving all residents – no matter their background, Dr. Young has had an indelible impact on the Wiregrass area and the state of Alabama as a whole,” said Alabama Community College System Chancellor Jimmy H. Baker.
Kudos
Larry Johnson, president of Guttman Community College, has been honored as a 2024 Trailblazer in Higher Education by City & State New York. The award recognizes higher education leaders who are preparing the next generation by developing innovative programs, advocating transformative policies and enhancing economic opportunities, according to a release. City & State New York noted that under Johnson’s leadership, the New York college – whose enrollment is 94% minority and 58% first-generation – celebrated its largest increase in student enrollment.
Madeline Pumariega, president of Miami Dade College (MDC) in Florida, is named by Forbes to its 50 Over 50 innovation list for 2024, which recognizes the nation’s leading women across various industries. Pumariega, the first woman to lead MDC and a member of the American Association of Community Colleges board of directors, was lauded in the Innovation category for embracing innovation in education, including launching Florida’s first bachelor’s degree in applied artificial intelligence.
Appointments
Fredrick Davis, has been named chief human resources officer at Community Colleges of Spokane (Washington). He previously was director of diversity and outreach initiatives for Tacoma Community College for six years.
Sylvia Royster, director of educational partnerships at College of Southern Maryland, has been appointed to the Maryland Commission on Hate Crime Response and Prevention. The commission is charged with developing strategies to address hate crimes and hate-bias activity, and the evaluation of Maryland laws and policies related to hate crimes.
Susan Thrasher is director of the new medical assistant program at Gadsden State Community College in Alabama. She previously was a health sciences instructor at the Etowah County Career Technical Center.
