Kennebec Valley Community College on Thursday announced that President Richard Hopper will leave his position at the end of May to go to Ukraine on a Fullbright Program fellowship.
Hopper has led the school, part of the Maine Community College System, for the past eight years. KVCC has campuses in Fairfield and Hinckley.
The school said it will undertake a search for his successor early next year, and that KVCC Vice President of Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Public Relations Karen Normandin will serve as interim president for the 2021-22 academic year.
“These eight years leading KVCC have been an immense privilege,” Hopper said in a news release. “The institutional development and transformation by our leadership team, faculty, staff, students and community has exceeded anything we could have imagined.”
He added, “My overwhelming response to all that has been accomplished at the college is a deep sense of appreciation. I am most grateful to have led the delicate transition of KVCC to pandemic operations. In spite of the social distancing and remote learning — or perhaps because of it — our community somehow feels ever more tightly knit and caring.”
William Cassidy, chair of the Maine Community College System Board of Trustees, praised the “great energy and creativity” Hopper brought to his position, while the system’s president, David Daigler, said Hopper led the way in identifying and designing strategic and accountability initiatives.
Hopper also “kept a steady hand during the many challenges of the pandemic,” Daigler said.
Normandin will begin her duties as interim president on June 1. She has worked at the institution for more than 30 years, and has deep ties to the students, faculty, staff and larger community.
She has twice received the President’s Award for her leadership, and was a John T. Gorman Fellow in 2019.
Maine’s seven community colleges serve more than 29,000 individuals a year through degree programs, customized training and lifelong learning.
Kennebec Valley Community College has around 2,500 students and offers more than 35 programs of study, according to a spokesperson.