York County Community College president to retire

Courtesy / Maine Community College System Barbara Finkelstein, president of York County Community College, is retiring on June 30. Scott Knapp, Central Maine Community College president, will serve as interim president overseeing both colleges during the search for her replacement, which will be launched this fall.

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By Staff

Maine Community College System President David Daigler announced today that Barbara Finkelstein, president of York County Community College, will retire on June 30.

Finkelstein, who took office in August 2014, has overseen a $2.9 million fundraising campaign at the Wells college that helped fuel new construction and course offerings. She also instituted policies that give students greater scheduling flexibility and deepened ties between the college and surrounding communities and businesses.

“Barbara Finkelstein has made major contributions to York County Community College and to the region it serves, expanding facilities and programs and working in close partnership with area employers to build a more highly skilled workforce,” Daigler said in a news release. “Those of us who have had the good fortune to work with her wish her all good things in her retirement.”

Finkelstein added: “It has been a distinct pleasure and honor to have worked with you over these past five years and to end my 41 years of work at community colleges and 46 years in education with faculty and staff who put students first.”

Central Maine Community College President Scott Knapp will serve as interim president, overseeing both colleges. Knapp has been president at CMCC since 1997 and has previously served as interim president at York County Community College.

A search for the next president of York County Community College, which has 1,600 students, will be launched in the fall.

Under Finkelstein’s leadership, the college expanded from one building to three, adding a new 18,000-square-foot state-of-the-art Pratt & Whitney Building on the Wells campus and a new instructional facility in Sanford that houses the college’s growing precision machining programs.

This year new academic offerings were introduced, including a new small business management certificate, an associate degree in animal care management and the college’s first course in additive manufacturing (i.e., 3-D printing) at the new Sanford site.

“As a local business owner, heavily dependent on the education and training that YCCC provides our employees and our community, I am grateful for President Finkelstein’s commitment to the development of the region’s workforce,” said Jean Ginn Marvin, chair of the MCCS board of trustees and innkeeper of the Nonantum Resort in Kennebunkport. “I will miss her never-ending support for the hospitality industry. Her plan to provide more hospitality courses and programs during the industry’s slower winter months has enabled more people to attend class and complete their degrees. It’s a visionary program and an important part of her legacy.”

Prior to joining York County Community College, Finkelstein served for more than 30 years in a variety of leadership roles at Massasoit Community College in Massachusetts. She has also been active in both professional and community affairs throughout her career. Most recently, she has served on the board of directors of the Kennebunk-Kennebunkport-Arundel Chamber of Commerce and president of the Wells Rotary Club. She is also a member of the Sanford Legacy Board and the Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk. In 2012, she was honored with the Phi Theta Kappa Distinguished College Administrator Hallmark Award.

Finkelstein holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston State College (now the University of Massachusetts-Boston), a master’s degree from New York University and a doctorate from Capella University.

Knapp previously held leadership positions at Ivy Tech State College in Terre Haute, Ind., and Lehigh Carbon Community College in Schnecksville, Pa. He holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Green Bay, Wisconsin; a master’s degree from Kutztown University in Pennsylvania; and a doctoral degree in Higher Education from Temple University in Pennsylvania.