WCCC Announces Leadership Transition
Joseph Cassidy to become SMCC President; Susan Mingo to lead WCCC
For the past five years, Joseph Cassidy has served Washington County Community College (WCCC) as its dedicated president. In that time, the college has continued its string of national accolades, placing repeatedly in the top tier of community colleges around the country. Now, President Cassidy is leaving WCCC to begin a new chapter in the Maine Community College System (MCCS): beginning on August 1st, he will be the president of Southern Maine Community College (SMCC), the largest school within the statewide network.
Cassidy will be filling the shoes of Ron Cantor, who has served as president of SMCC for seven years. Cantor will now be working specifically on initiatives within MCCS. “The Board is grateful to Ron for his leadership of our largest college and his deep commitment to the students and businesses we serve,” said Jean Ginn Marvin, Chair of the MCCS Board of Trustees. “His tenure has been marked by the launch of SMCC’s Midcoast Campus in Brunswick, strong community partnerships, and progressive programming in a number of areas. Moreover, this past year, he has ushered the college through its reaccreditation process and the launch of its comprehensive student success initiative.”
SMCC has a student population of approximately 7,000, while WCCC has around 500 throughout the year. Cassidy, who holds a law degree from the University of Maine School of Law and a Master of Science in Education from the University of Southern Maine, will employ experience and knowledge gained from his total of 14 years at WCCC as well as his time serving as interim president at Eastern Maine Community College to meet the needs of the new position.
The transition comes at an important time for the state’s community college system. The colleges have just begun a comprehensive three-year, System-wide student success initiative. They are also undertaking new strategic investments in workforce training. Together, these initiatives will be the centerpiece of the System’s new three-year strategic plan, the goal of which is to ensure that Maine’s community colleges continue to adapt to the changing educational and employment needs of the state.
To keep the momentum of this important work moving forward without disruption or delay, the MCCS Board of Trustees has accepted the recommendation of MCCS President Derek Langhauser to postpone conducting a traditional search at this time, and will instead appoint to three-year terms Joseph Cassidy, currently the president of Washington County Community College (WCCC), to serve as president of SMCC, and Susan Mingo, WCCC’s Dean of Enrollment Management and Student Services, to succeed Cassidy as president of WCCC.
“Our System is extremely fortunate to have strong leaders across our colleges who make it possible to ensure that its institutions continue to be well run during periods of transition,” noted Langhauser. “Both Joe Cassidy and Susan Mingo will bring steady, proven leadership to their new posts and will enable both institutions to continue their strong forward momentum.”
Mingo has been a member of WCCC’s administration for the past 13 years, including serving as Dean of Enrollment Management and Student Services for the past five years. She is the senior staff member of the Campus Executive Team and holds a master’s in human relations with a concentration in college student affairs from Husson University.
Presidents Cassidy and Mingo will each be given a three-year appointment, at the conclusion of which the Board, in consultation with the System president and each of the college communities, will determine whether a search for a new president should be conducted at that time.