The Grand Rapids Community College Board of Trustees officially announced Kathryn Rogalski as the college’s 12th president during a special board meeting held this morning.
The search for a new president commenced in April following former president Charles Lepper’s abrupt departure. Rogalski received the nod following a 5-1 vote in her favor.
Rogalski is currently serving as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Workforce Development at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. She brings more than 25 years of experience in higher education with an emphasis on meeting student needs, fostering a sense of belonging, and development for workforce readiness.
GRCC Board members provided a rationale for why they felt Rogalski was the best fit as leader of the college.
“Some of the reasons I found why Dr. Rogalski aligned with what this college needs at this moment in time is, first of all, when she was here, she grounded each of her presentations by beginning with a student’s story at her current institution,” Vice Chairperson Kathleen Bruinsma said. “Student-focused, she has a keen eye, I found, on all levels. Access, momentum, mobility, and community vibrancy.”
Trustee Kenyatta Brame agreed.
“I think she embodies every quality that we have identified as essential,” Brame said. “She is a visionary. I enjoyed her presentations. She is bold, and she is a strategic leader that we need. She truly seemed to understand and appreciate admissions of community college, which I thought was really important. I think that she can strengthen trust, and she understands the importance of our culture, what our college has strived to, and she knows she needs to take us in a future positive direction, and she seemed very excited about that opportunity and being a champion for student success.”
The process to get to this point took a lot of collaboration, insightful discussions, and transparency across all sectors to be sure that the college picked the right person to lead the college. However, the board feels that they identified the right fit to represent a new era at GRCC.
“I think the clarity around transparency, I wrote a quote down over and over that says leadership is a math problem and we have to show our work,” Trustee Daniel Williams said. “People need to see the struggle behind the work, and consistently talking about that, and how important it is to be clear with everybody, the why behind it, the what behind it, really stood out to me. Her being able to speak clearly about the need and ways in which she would collaborate and create conditions necessary for the very hard, important work that advances student success.”
GRCC Board Chairperson Brandy Lovelady Mitchell, who is wrapping up her term as board chairperson, acknowledged the historic day of motioning for approval of the college’s next president.
“I want to express gratitude to the people who engaged and supported the presidential search process,” Mitchell said. “Faculty, staff, students, and community members have put a lot of work into this effort, resulting in this wonderful outcome.”
Rogalski is expected to assume the presidency in 2026. No expected start date has been announced at this time.
The board will meet again to discuss the terms of the contract for Rogalski and deliberate for approval on January 8, 2026.
