Dr. Marta Yera Cronin Named the College's Next President
(Delaware and Chester Counties, PA • January 23, 2023)—Marta Yera Cronin, EdD, currently president of Columbia Gorge Community College in The Dalles, Oregon, has been selected by Delaware County Community College’s Board of Trustees to become the College’s next president.
Dr. Cronin will succeed L. Joy Gates Black, EdD, who will retire on June 30 of this year after six years of service to the College. Dr. Cronin will be the College’s fifth president since its founding 55 years ago. She also will be the second woman and the first Latina to lead the College.
A highly respected higher education administrator and a first-generation college student born of immigrant parents, Dr. Cronin has over 30 years of experience in education. She has served in community colleges for more than two decades. Prior to her presidency at Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC), she served in various administrative and faculty roles at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, Florida, including vice president of Academic Affairs, dean of the School of Education, department chair and full professor. She also has more than a decade of K-12 teaching experience in Florida.
Dr. Cronin was chosen by the Board of Trustees after an extensive national search to lead Delaware County Community College, which serves 16,000 credit and non-credit students annually. She will begin her post in July 2023.
“While we will miss the dynamic leadership of Dr. Gates Black, whose achievements during her tenure will positively impact the College and our students for years to come, Dr. Cronin’s long and successful career in education, dedication to equity-related efforts and strong organizational and leadership skills will be great assets,” says Kevin Scott, chair, Delaware County Community College Board of Trustees. “We look forward to a seamless transition.”
Passionate about inclusion, Dr. Cronin currently serves as co-chair of the Oregon Community College Association’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, co-chair of the board for the Oregon League of Minority Voters and president of the Comunidades board, a bi-state organization dedicated to advocating for and empowering Latino women and youth in the region. Under her leadership, CGCC secured funding for a $16.4M capital project, which led to the design and construction of the Columbia Gorge Regional Skills Center and Chinook Residence Hall on the main campus in The Dalles, Oregon.
"I am humbled and honored to be appointed as the next president of Delaware County Community College,” says Dr. Cronin. “I am grateful for the opportunity to lead an institution that is so passionate about serving students and residents in Delaware and Chester Counties by providing quality educational programming and inclusive services. I look forward to joining the dedicated faculty, staff, administrators, board and community members as we collaboratively plan and work towards the College’s promising future."
At Indian River State College, Dr. Cronin served on several Florida Department of Education committees and advisory groups, as the Florida Delegate for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and on The American Association of Community Colleges’ Commission on Small and Rural Colleges.
Currently, she serves on The Dalles Community Outreach Team, Hood River County Economic Development Group and is a board member on the Mid-Columbia Economic Development District board of directors and the Rural Community College Alliance board. Dr. Cronin has also been involved in several state and national COVID recovery efforts, representing the college on the American Association of Community College/National Governor’s Association Reskilling and Recovery Network and through Oregon Governor Brown’s North Central Region Equity in Recovery Council.
Among the many awards Dr. Cronin has received over her 30-year career in education are a Phi Theta Kappa International Distinguished Advisor Award and a League for Innovation in the Community College Innovation of the Year Award.
Dr. Cronin holds a Doctor of Education with an emphasis on curriculum and instruction from the University of Sarasota, a Master of Science degree in Reading from Barry University and a Bachelor’s degree in French from the University of Miami.
