Young

Dr. Betty Young, president of Northwest State Community College in Archbold, Ohio, was unanimously elected to be the fourth president of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College by the schoolís Board of Trustees August 6.

Contingent on approval by the State Board of Community Colleges, Young will become the first woman to hold the position in A-B Techís 48-year history. She succeeds K. Ray Bailey, who had been president since 1990.

ìIt is an honor to be selected to serve as the new president of A-B Tech,î said Young, who plans to officially begin her new duties Sept. 1.

ìMy own success began with a community college counselor who told me, ëYou can do this, sign up for a few classes and get started.í I did and that path has led me here.î

ìWe are thrilled,î Trustees Chair Carol Peterson said. ìFollowing an exhaustive search that included input from the North Carolina Community College System Office, it was clear that Dr. Betty Young is the person to continue A-B Techís remarkable success.î

Young did not attend college until the age of 28, when she was a single mother working two jobs in the Appalachian region of southern Ohio. Her first degree ó an associateís in math and science ó was followed by a bachelor of business administration, a master of education, and a doctorate in higher education, all from Ohio University in Athens. She also holds a law degree from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, and is licensed to practice in Ohio and West Virginia.

Prior to becoming president of Northwest State in 2003, Young worked at Franklin University in Columbus, serving as associate vice president for Academic Services, assistant vice president for Academic Services, dean of the Ross School of Management and Leadership, interim dean of the Graduate School of Business, and assistant dean of curriculum development.

She also has served as the department chair of the Business Division and a business professor at Washington State Community College in Marietta, Ohio.

At Northwest State, Young worked with the campus community on creating a Student Success and Advocacy Center and opened two new campus centers in the five counties that make up the collegeís service area.

Under her leadership, the college developed distance learning and alternative course delivery formats that increased access to higher education, including a requirement that all students at Northwest take a least one online course to graduate.

Young is married to George Gandor. Her daughter, Shoshanna, is a lawyer in Marietta, and her son-in-law, Jeff, is a teacher. She also has a 17-month-old granddaughter, Lakyn.

Roger Ebert