A press release from Michael J. Knapp, Chair, Board of Trustees dated December 17,2021
On behalf of the Montgomery College Board of Trustees, I am very pleased to announce that the Board of Trustees has selected Dr. Jermaine Williams as the next president of Montgomery College. Dr. Williams brings 19 years of higher education experience, including 17 years working at diverse multi-campus institutions. Dr. Williams currently serves as president of Nassau Community College in Garden City, New York.
Dr. Williams will officially begin his role as president in the first quarter of 2022. Dr. Charlene Dukes will continue to serve as interim president of the College until then and will work closely with Dr. Williams and College leadership to help ensure a smooth transition.
Throughout the search process, Dr. Williams impressed both the Board of Trustees and the Presidential Search Advisory Committee with his passion for educational excellence and the shared mission of community colleges. He also demonstrated a commitment to serving students with strategies deeply rooted in equity and inclusion. These qualifications, along with an impressive track record of leadership and achievement in higher education, make Dr. Williams an outstanding choice to lead the employees of Montgomery College in the years ahead. There is no doubt that Dr. Williams will inspire students to achieve and the community to thrive.
Dr. Williams has served as the president of SUNY Nassau Community College (NCC), a Hispanic Serving Institution, since 2019. NCC is the largest single-campus community college among the 30 community colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Dr. Williams has focused his energies there on improving access for students, as well as retention and graduation, with special attention to mitigating social inequities for historically underrepresented people. He has been widely lauded for his inclusive leadership style and for building teams that create strategic programing and policies to improve student outcomes. He has never shied from navigating intense internal discussions on leadership priorities, always with the support of his board.
Dr. Williams is known widely as a collaborative leader focused on supporting the mission and spirit of community colleges. Having taught at two-year and four-year institutions for more than eight years, he has experienced higher education from several important vantage points. Dr. Williams’ view of higher education as a public good informs his personal passion about enhancing access, completion, and post-completion success. His professional approach to student success is deeply rooted in equity-minded systems and data-informed analysis.
Dr. Williams has published and spoken on access, equity, and achievement in national and international settings. His doctorate of education in educational administration, with a higher education specialization, is from Temple University. He also holds certificates from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. Dr. Williams was selected to participate in the Aspen Institute’s Rising Presidential Fellowship in 2018 and held a New Presidents Fellowship in 2021. He is actively engaged in the community, serving on several boards of directors. Dr. Williams is a father and husband who values family time with his spouse and two children.
The Board of Trustees invites you to participate in a special year-end celebration welcoming Dr. Williams to Montgomery College today at 1 p.m. While we would have preferred a larger gathering to mark this important announcement, attendance will be limited to 100 people in keeping with COVID-19 health protocols. Please RSVP to attend in person as space permits, but everyone can view the event live beginning at 1 p.m. In the weeks ahead, the College will announce multiple opportunities to meet the new president in person during the spring semester.
My sincere thanks to the Board’s First Vice Chair Michael Brintnall for his leadership of the advisory committee, as well as to the committee members for their contributions to this meticulous search, which attracted 80 candidates from across the country. I also thank the Board for sharing a range of diverse experiences and perspectives that helped shape the criteria for our next president. Additionally, I express my appreciation to the many members of the College and the community who attended multiple forums and provided input on the search. This rich diversity of perspectives and insights helped ensure a successful presidential selection.
Please join me in a spirited Raptor welcome to Dr. Jermaine Williams as the next president of Montgomery College!