Black Lesbian Named College President

DeRionne P. Pollard has been named the new president of Montgomery College in Montgonery County, Maryland, the first African American lesbian college president in the country. Earlier this year MadProfessah reported that Grinnell College had made news by naming the first openly gay, Black college professor in Dr. Raynard Kington. The news, I should be clear, was that Kington was openly gay and African American. There are currently several openly gay college presidents (primarily at liberal arts colleges) but few openly gay racial minorities.

From the official Montgonery Cllege press release:

Dr. Pollard will officially start her role as president on August 2, 2010. She will become the ninth chief executive officer in the College’s 64-year history.

“I am thankful and truly honored that the Board of Trustees selected me as the next president of Montgomery College,” said Dr Pollard. “I am impressed with the caliber of the faculty, staff, administrators and students at Montgomery College. I look forward to meeting and learning from them and the alumni, donors, business community and elected officials who support this wonderful institution and its mission of changing lives.”

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Dr. Pollard’s community college career began as a professor of English at the College of Lake County (IL) in 1995. She taught courses ranging from developmental reading and college composition to minority literature and early American literature. Additionally, she developed the institution’s award-winning New Faculty Institute and its Center for Teaching and Learning. After several progressive administrative positions, Dr. Pollard was selected as the college’s vice president of educational affairs. She served in the position until her appointment as president of Las Positas College.

Dr. Pollard serves on the boards of the Tri-Valley YMCA and EdSource. She is a member of the Commission on Research and Emerging Trends for the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and the Presidents’ Round Table of the National Council of Black American Affairs. Additionally, Dr. Pollard was appointed to the Commission on the Future of the Community College League of California, a taskforce dedicated to developing a vision for the future of the California Community College System.

Dr. Pollard frequently speaks on subjects such as leadership development, institutional advancement, and equity issues in higher education. She has a deep-rooted commitment to teaching and learning, championing equity and access, professional development, and community partnerships.

Dr. Pollard received her Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy studies in higher education from Loyola University Chicago, and both her M.A. and B.A. in English from Iowa State University.

She and her partner of over 20 years, Robyn A. Jones, are the proud parents of a three-year-old son, Myles Julian Pollard-Jones.

Montgomery College is a public, open admissions community college with campuses in Germantown, Rockville, and Takoma Park/Silver Spring. The College serves nearly 60,000 students a year, through both credit and noncredit programs, in more than 100 areas of study.

And just like that, the world changes around us, bit by bit, every day!