Courtesy / MCCS
EMCC Interim President Wayne Burton
October 4, 2021
EMCC president stepping down for DC job, interim successor named
File Photo / University of Maine
In 2018, Eastern Maine Community College President Lisa Larson, left, and University of Maine then-President Susan Hunter celebrated the signing of an agreement that allowed EMCC students in some programs to easily transfer credits toward a bachelor's degree at UMaine's flagship campus.
By Staff
Eastern Maine Community College President Lisa Larson has resigned and will leave the 2,400-student school later this month to accept a position with a Washington, D.C., education nonprofit.
Larson’s last day at EMCC will be Oct. 23, according to a news release Monday from the Maine Community College System. Wayne Burton, president emeritus of North Shore Community College in Danvers, Mass., has been named interim president of EMCC and will begin his duties in the middle of this month.
Larson will lead the Community College Growth Engine Fund Initiative at Education Design Lab in D.C. The lab designs and implements innovative learning models for higher education and the future of work.
During her five-year tenure at EMCC, Larson oversaw the expansion of new learning models and fostered discussions about new approaches to serving students better and strengthening ties with the community, according to the release.
“Lisa’s accomplishments over the last five years cannot be overstated,” said MCCS President David Daigler. “While we will miss her greatly, we are thrilled to see her move into a new role with Education Design Lab and look forward to continuing our partnership in the future.”
Bill Cassidy, chairman of the MCCS Board of Trustees, added, “Lisa has been an inspiring and passionate leader at EMCC, effectively improving the student experience and advancing the College in new, important ways.”
Burton will serve as interim president for the remainder of the academic year, and a national search for a new president will begin shortly after the commencement of the spring term.
Burton served as president of North Shore Community College from 2000 to 2013 before retiring, and previously worked at Salem State University in Massachusetts and the University of New Hampshire. He chaired the Massachusetts Community College Presidents’ Council in 2011-2012, and is the founding chair of the National Community College Consortium on Autism and Intellectual Disabilities.
A Bowdoin College graduate, he also holds a doctorate in higher education leadership from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from the University of New Hampshire.
“I am both grateful and humbled by the opportunity to join an organization which under Dr. Larson’s leadership has reached the cutting edge of programs and services that continue to carry students to their fullest potential,” Burton said in the release. “The students and the region have benefited from her leadership, which I hope to emulate during this transitional period.”
EMCC, one of seven members of the Maine Community College System, offers more than 40 programs of study and serves students at a Bangor campus and off-campus centers in East Millinocket and Dover-Foxcroft.
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