Delaware County Community College Welcomes New President
(Delaware and Chester Counties, PA - July 10, 2023)—On July 1, Marta Yera Cronin, Ed.D., formerly president of Columbia Gorge Community College in The Dalles, Oregon, began her role as president of Delaware County Community College. She is the College’s fifth president since its founding 56 years ago.
After an extensive national search, in January 2023 Dr. Cronin was chosen by Delaware County Community College’s Board of Trustees to lead the College, which serves 16,000 credit and non-credit students annually. She succeeds L. Joy Gates Black, Ed.D., who retired on June 30 of this year after six years of service to the College. Dr. Cronin is 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, 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 arrives at a pivotal time for Delaware County Community College. In May, the College broke ground for its planned renovation of the former Archbishop Prendergast High School in Drexel Hill, Pa. into a new community-centered, state-of-the-art campus. The comprehensive multi-use facility will provide affordable, quality education and training, as well as community programs, to area residents in an easily accessible location.
“I am thrilled to finally be here in Pennsylvania to lead Delaware County Community College in the important work of educating and training students and members of our community,” Dr. Cronin said. “I look forward to meeting and working with our community partners as we collaborate to move the college forward.”
Passionate about inclusion, Dr. Cronin served 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, and on the American Association of Community Colleges’ Commission on Small and Rural Colleges. Under her leadership, Columbia Gorge Community College secured funding for a $16.4 million 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.
At Indian River State College, Dr. Cronin served on several Florida Department of Education committees and advisory groups, and as the Florida Delegate for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.
Among the 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.
