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Dr. Karen Hynick joined CT State's Quinebaug Valley campus (at the time Quinebaug Valley Community College) as the Chief Executive Officer in 2021. During her tenure, she has led the college's crafting of its new Strategic Plan, completed its 10-year reaccreditation with NECHE, created the college's first equity audit, strengthened its partnership with Quinebaug Middle College and area high schools and secured the philanthropic building donation that led to the establishment of a permanent location for the college in Willimantic. She helped Quinebaug Valley become the first Connecticut college to join the Race, Equity and Justice Institute (REJI). In addition, she is involved in several Connecticut State Community College committees, including Strategic Planning, Dual Enrollment and High School Partnerships, Graduation Committee, and the Enrollment Management Council.
Before joining Quinebaug Valley, Dr. Hynick served as North Shore Community College's (NSCC) Vice President of Academic Affairs from 2014-2021. During her tenure, she led the college's development of its Master Academic Plan, Two Year Schedule Process, Guided Pathways Implementation, Early College with Lynn Public Schools, advanced the college's role as the statewide consortium lead for prior learning assessment, focused the college's efforts on student learning outcomes and redesigned the academic program review process. She also co-led many aspects of the college's reaccreditation processes with NECHE. She was instrumental in helping the college to acquire its largest philanthropic grant of almost 2 million dollars to support the Bertolon Simulation Health Center to advance interdisciplinary simulation-based training and classroom experiences. Dr. Hynick also played a pivotal role in the Title III grant application and implementation of "Pathways to Success," leading to new technologies to support student academic planning and student success indicators through EAB Navigate. Dr. Hynick served as a Chief Academic Affairs Officer representative to help renegotiate the MCC collective bargaining agreement. She co-chaired the Dual and Concurrent Enrollment Advisory Team for the Department of Higher Education.
Before her role at NSCC, she served as the Chancellor's Fellow at the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities in St. Paul, assisting in "Charting the Future," a system-wide strategic framework. She also simultaneously served as the System Director for P-20 for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, reforming developmental education and expanding early college and dual enrollment programs throughout Minnesota. Dr. Hynick also spent six years as Dean of Academic Affairs and Student Support at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. Early in her career, Dr. Hynick taught at Leominster High School, Quinsigamond Community College and several Department of Youth Services sites. Dr. Hynick is a native of New England and earned her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, her Master of Education at Worcester State University, and her Ed.D. in Educational Administration at Bethel University, St. Paul, MN.
