Karen A. Stout, president of Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, announced that she will be stepping down to become president and CEO of Achieving the Dream Inc. The nonprofit organization was conceived as a national initiative in 2004 by the Lumina Foundation. Achieving the Dream is a partnership of over 200 institutions of higher education, 100 coaches and advisors, 15 state policy teams, and numerous investors and partners working throughout 34 states and the District of Columbia. The organization’s goal is to help 3.8 million community college students have a better chance of realizing greater economic opportunity and achieving their dreams.
Dr. Stout will remain as president of Montgomery County Community College for the remainder of the academic year and assume her new duties on July 1. She has been president of the college since 2001. Before joining Montgomery County Community College, Dr. Stout served as the vice president for institutional advancement and enrollment services at Camden County College in New Jersey.
President Stout holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Delaware. She also earned an MBA from the University of Baltimore.