Three Women Leaders Are Stepping Down From the Top Posts at Colleges and Universities

Rachel Solemsaas will step down on June 30 as chancellor of Hawai‘i Community College, a position she has held since 2016. She previously served as the vice president for finance and administrative services at Truckee Meadows Community College in Nevada. Prior to that appointment, she was vice president for administrative services at Bellevue College and vice president for finance and operations at Edmonds Community College, both in Washington. “It truly has been an honor to serve Hawai‘i Community College as chancellor, but personal family-related matters have necessitated that I leave this institution that I love and have served for seven years,” said Dr. Solemsaas. Chancellor Solemsaas earned a bachelor of science in accounting from De La Salle University in Manila. She holds a master of public administration degree from the University of Washington and a doctorate in community college leadership from Washington State University.

Lesia L. Crumpton-Young has announced that she is stepping down as president of Texas Southern University in Houston. She stated that she had been “called to expand my commitment to transforming lives by helping elevate HBCUs to a broader national stage.” No further explanation was given. From 2019 to 2021, Dr. Crumpton-Young served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. She also was a tenured full professor in the department of industrial and systems engineering of the Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. School of Engineering. Dr. Crumpton-Young earned a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D. in industrial engineering, all from Texas A&M University. She holds the distinction of being the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in engineering at Texas A&M.

Kathryn A. Foster is stepping down as president of The College of New Jersey. After taking a one-year sabbatical, she will return to the college as a professor of political science. Dr. Foster became president of the college on July 1, 2018. Previously, she was president of the University of Maine at Farmington. Earlier, she served on the faculty of the University at Buffalo of the State University of New York System. During her 18 years there, Dr. Foster served as chair of the department of urban and regional planning, director of the Regional Institute, and director of undergraduate studies. A native of Verona, New Jersey, Dr. Foster earned a bachelor’s degree in geography and environmental engineering from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. She holds a master’s degree in city and regional planning from the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. in public and international affairs from Princeton University in New Jersey.