Dr. 凯伦一个. 结实的 was appointed as the fourth President of Montgomery County Community College in 2001 and served through 2015. During her distinguished 14-year tenure, Dr. 结实的 led the College with visionary thinking, strategic planning and student success at the heart of her work. To honor her many contributions to the College and community, the 校董会 has named her President Emerita. She was also presented with an honorary associate’s degree in letters during the College’s 2015 commencement 仪式.

Dr. 结实的 challenged faculty, staff and community stakeholders to connect their daily tasks with the College’s student success work, and soon, access, success and completion became woven into the institution’s culture. As a result, enrollment grew by 30 percent and the number of graduates increased by 70 percent during her tenure. Dr. 胖也 oversaw the design and implementation of three strategic plans and a master facilities plan that changed the face of the Central and West campuses, created the Culinary Arts Institute and built the technology and instructional supports for a thriving 在线社区.

Under her leadership, Montgomery is recognized nationally as an Achieving the Dream Leader College for many of its programs and initiatives designed to improve access 和成功. Examples include a Minority Student Mentoring Initiative, financial literacy education, reimagined student entry and advising processes, educational planning tools, peer mentoring, and a new approach to developmental education.

Many of those initiatives resulted from Dr. 结实的’s frequent engagement with students. She gave students a voice by adding student representation to all college-wide committees, and she provided several opportunities each semester for students to share their ideas and concerns over lunch during a popular “Wraps with the President” program. 她还 hosted more than 500 episodes of “Montgomery County Community College On The Air,” a weekly radio program produced by Communication students.

Early in her tenure, Dr. 结实的 established an integrated Student Success Center, providing students with streamlined access to academic advising, counseling, job placement support and transfer evaluation in a central and prominent location at each campus. 中心 is a physical representation of her passion for student access, success and completion at the College’s Central and West campuses. Today, the center bears a new name: The 凯伦一个. 结实的 Student Success Center.

In addition to renaming of the Student Success Center, one of the Foundation’s hallmark events—the Leading Women Symposium and Golf Experience—also bears Dr. 结实的名字 in honor of her commitment to philanthropy. The annual 凯伦一个. 结实的 Leading Women Symposium and Golf Experience, held each spring, raises funds for women’s scholarships and programming while facilitating valuable networking opportunities for its participants.

Dr. 结实的 leaves behind a personal philanthropic legacy for future Montgomery students through two contributions to the Foundation’s comprehensive “Futures Rising” campaign, 筹集了10美元.5 million in two years. She has established a Phi Theta Kappa Challenge Fund, which helps qualifying, Pell-eligible students pay half of the honor society membership fee, and an Endowed Scholarship Fund awarded annually to a student pursing a career in Communication.

On July 1, 2015, Dr. 结实的 assumed the role as President and CEO of Achieving the 梦想的公司., a national, non-profit student success reform network that serves more than 200 community colleges and nearly four million students in 35 states.