A third president of a community college in Connecticut has announced she will be leaving the Board of Regents system.
Martha McLeod, who has been president of Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield for 10 years, wrote students and faculty Sunday to inform them she will be retiring at the end of the fiscal year June 30.
“We have achieved so much together… Now, after many years in higher education administration, it’s time to refocus my attention on a different set of personal objectives. In this next phase of my life, I plan to travel and enjoy more time with my family and friends,” wrote the president of the 1,700-student campus.
McLeod’s announced departure is the third among the state’s 12 community college presidents in the past few months. The president of Quinebaug Valley Community College stepped down in December, and Three Rivers’ president announced she will be leaving at the end of the school year.
McLeod’s annual salary last fiscal year was $191,850. With her decision to retire, she will not be provided the 12 months of full-time pay awarded to presidents when their contract is not renewed.
These departures follow a meeting last September where some presidents of the colleges allege they were offered a “buyout” by top officials at central office. The presidents have since been assured by the system’s governing board that no such arranged separation of the presidents is moving forward.
A spokeswoman for the college system said Monday that no other presidents have informed central office that they will be stepping down, nor have any presidents received a notice that their annual contract will not be renewed come July 1.
The Board of Regents has not yet set up a search committee to fill any of the three vacancies.
The board is expected to announce Thursday the name of the the next president of the 17-college system.