Dawn Lindsay to leave GCC for college in Maryland

Glendale Community College President Dawn Lindsay today announced that she has accepted the top job at a community college in Maryland.

Lindsay, a Maryland native, said that she will leave Glendale on June 30 and assume her new role at Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, Md. shortly thereafter.

“Obviously, it makes me sad,” Lindsay said of her departure. “But I know from a professional and personal perspective this is the best opportunity for me. Anne Arundel was the only college I applied at. It is a great college. It is little bigger than Glendale. It has a stellar reputation.”

She will work with the Glendale Community College Board of Trustees to begin the process of naming an interim president, as well as initiating a full search for her permanent replacement, Lindsay said.

The search process will likely take many months, she added.

Vickie Fretwell, president of the board of trustees at Anne Arundel Community College, said Tuesday that she and her colleagues were looking for a candidate who could not only lead on campus, but also work effectively with community members, business leaders and top state officials.

“I think that Dawn’s demonstrated action, relative to inclusion, was one of the key things that we really appreciated,” Fretwell said. “She engages and involves everybody in her decision-making process and respects and requests input from so many people.”

Lindsay was named interim president of Glendale Community College in May 2009 following the resignation of then-President Audre Levy. One year later, the college hired her permanently.

-- Megan O’Neil, Times Community News

Twitter: @megankoneil