Oregon’s largest higher education institution will have a new president this summer.
Portland Community College’s Board of Directors on Monday selected Adrien Bennings as the college’s next president.
Adrien Bennings will be PCC's eighth president, and its first woman president.
Simon A. Thalmann / OPB
“We were tremendously impressed by Dr. Bennings’ passion for the transformative power of community colleges,” board chair Mohamed Alyajouri said in a statement. “Dr. Bennings brings demonstrated strengths as a strategic thinker and transparent decision-maker; as a skilled and collaborative communicator, relationship builder and fundraiser; and as a strong advocate for equitable student success.”
PCC’s board voted unanimously in selecting Bennings for the role, after a nine-month national search.
Bennings will be PCC’s eighth president and its first woman president. She will replace current president Mark Mitsui who is retiring at the end of June. Mitsui has served as PCC’s president since 2016.
“This is a bittersweet sorrow process to have to name our successor to our college president Mark Mitsui, who has done a wonderful job,” Alyajouri said in the board meeting on Monday. “We can’t replace Mark Mitsui. We don’t need to replicate Mark Mitsui. … Mark Mitsui and his team set up a great vision for the college, along with his cabinet and staff, and we believe we have the right leader who will take that vision forward.”
Bennings is currently president of Kellogg Community College in Michigan. She’s worked in higher education for more than 15 years, according to PCC.