Herkimer College chooses OCC provost as its next president

HERKIMER, N.Y. — Herkimer County Community College has tapped a high-level official at Onondaga Community College (OCC) to be its next president.

The State University of New York (SUNY) board of trustees has approved the appointment of Cathleen McColgin as the fourth president at Herkimer College.

McColgin has served as provost and senior vice president at OCC since 2008.

Herkimer College announced the appointment Tuesday in a news release posted on its website.

Her appointment is effective “on or about” June 1.

The previous president of Herkimer College, Ann Marie Murray, retired in January 2014, after more than five years as the college’s leader. A month later, Murray took a job at the University at Albany’s provost’s office, according to area media reports.

McColgin, in her current role, has provided leadership and oversight of all OCC educational services including academic departments and programs; faculty professional development; student academic-support services; and instructional design and delivery.

“Dr. McColgin has been a member of the SUNY family for more than 20 years, serving Cayuga Community College in many capacities from instructor to provost, and overseeing educational services as provost of Onondaga Community College for the last seven years,” Nancy Zimpher, SUNY Chancellor, said in the news release. “It goes without saying that this experience has prepared Dr. McColgin to serve as president of Herkimer County Community College.”

McColgin had previously served as provost of the Fulton campus of Cayuga Community College (CCC) since 2001. She also was a faculty member and coordinator of the nursing-arts laboratory at CCC.

In addition to her work in academia, McColgin worked as a registered nurse and served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve as a member of the 376th Combat Support Hospital, obtaining the rank of captain.

McColgin has also served as an evaluator for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, according to the news release.

OCC on Tuesday released a statement congratulating McColgin on the appointment.

“Onondaga Community College is very pleased to extend our congratulations to Dr. Cathleen McColgin as the newly appointed president of Herkimer County Community College. Her experience and expertise have helped support the success of our students at Onondaga, which she will certainly continue in her new role at our sister community college. We wish her much success in this new leadership role,” Casey Crabill, OCC president, said in the OCC statement.