Two Women College Presidents Announce Their Retirements

Carlee Drummer, president of Columbia-Greene Community College in Hudson, New York, has announced she will retire on June 30.

Since assuming her presidency in 2019, Dr. Drummer has helped the community college expand its academic offerings; improve infrastructure; increase enrollment; create diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; and acquire over $5 million in donations and grant funding. Most notably, she oversaw the college’s reaccreditation in 2023 by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

Prior to her current role, Dr. Drummer was president of Quinebaug Valley Community College in Danielson, Connecticut. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, and a master’s degree and doctorate in English from Stony Brook University in New York.

Tara McCrackin, president of the Kendall College of Art and Design at Ferris State University in Michigan, has announced she will retire on June 1.

President McCrackin was first appointed as interim president of KCAD in July 2019 and officially assumed the presidency in March 2021. A faculty member with the college’s interior design program since 2002, she also holds the title of vice president of Ferris State University. Throughout her long tenure, she has served as a program advisor and as program chair for interior design.

Before her career in academia, President McCrackin spent several years as a designer for corporate office interiors. She holds a bachelor’s degree in art education from Western Michigan University, a bachelor of fine arts degree in interior design from Kendall College of Art and Design, and a master’s degree in adult and higher education from Grand Valley State University.