Dr. Betty Young was selected to serve as Interim President of Hocking College by the Hocking College Board of Trustees at their meeting on October 27, 2014.
"Working with the Association of Community College Trustees, we considered four highly-qualified, candidates who were immediately available to step into the role of interim president. The choice was extremely difficult, but after our own analysis and input from the college community we are thrilled to select Dr. Young. We believe she has the skills necessary to lead us through this period of transition and set Hocking College on the path to a bright future," Andrew Stone, Chairman of the Hocking College Board of Trustees, said.
Young has extensive presidential experience, having served as president of three different two-year colleges during her career. She most recently served as President of Houston Community College (HCC) Coleman College for Health Sciences, which has an annual enrollment of more than 6,000 students. Prior to that, she was president of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College in North Carolina and Northwest State Community College in Archbold, Ohio.
She is passionate about the important role of community and technical colleges. Young is originally from Southeastern Ohio, where at the age of 28 she started college as an adult student and earned an associate degree.
“I attribute my success to having a background that includes attending a community college. As a product of a community college, and a first generation college graduate, I am committed to ensuring that more people have the same opportunity,” Young explained. “In my role as the Interim President of Hocking College, I am looking forward to furthering the college’s mission of providing an innovative and quality education, while continuing to build a strong foundation for future students.”
She attended Ohio University and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting/Management, her Master’s Degree in Higher Education and her Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership. Young went on to earn both her Juris Doctor and her advanced degree in Business Law from Capital University Law School. Her first positions within higher education were faculty and department chair for Washington State Community College, and as Dean and Assistant Vice President for Franklin University in Columbus.
Known to be an innovator in higher education, Young has led colleges to enrollment growth through both retention and new programming. She has an emphasis on outreach and marketing, as a continual advocate for two-year colleges in both the local communities and the state and federal legislatures. Young has extensive experience in workforce development and has chaired the Workforce and Economic Development Commission of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) on the implementation team focused on skills gaps for the 21st Century Initiative.
While in her most recent position, Young was named one of 20 Women in the Fast Lane by the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce 2013, recognized by Houston Magazine as one of Houston’s 50 most influential women of 2013 and by DMars as one of Houston’s 30 most influential women in 2014.
Young was chosen from two finalists for the Interim President position, and will begin on October 28, 2014. She will continue in this capacity as the Board of Trustees begins a national search for their next permanent president.
