Press Release
January 27, 2010
CONTACT: Karen Tinebra
973.877.3053 tinebra@essex.edu
EDYTHE M. ABDULLAH APPOINTED
PRESIDENT OF ESSEX COUNTY COLLEGE
Abdullah, who is currently President of the Downtown Campus of Florida State College in Jacksonville, will begin her new position on April 1. Her appointment, approved by the trustee board on January 26, comes following a comprehensive search process that began last May.
“This is an exciting time for the college,” said the Rev. Reginald T. Jackson, chairman of the Board of Trustees. “Dr. Abdullah is a highly qualified and energetic leader who has a wealth of experience to guide the college. We are fortunate to have attracted an individual with a solid record of achievement who we are confident will provide excellent leadership for our institution.”
Abdullah becomes the college’s sixth president and the first woman to lead Essex. She succeeds A. Zachary Yamba, the longest serving college president in New Jersey, who is retiring after a 29-year tenure. Yamba will continue to head the college until Abdullah assumes the presidency.
“I am just ecstatic about this new journey and this exceptional opportunity to lead an illustrious and respected college that has been an educational anchor for this community for more than 40 years,” said Abdullah. “I look forward to continuing its fine work and enhancing the academic and economic success of the citizens of Essex County.”
ECC’s new president holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Florida Holland Law Center in Gainesville and earned bachelor’s degrees in religious studies and communications from Valparaiso University in Indiana. She also holds a Leadership Certificate in the Management of Lifelong Education from Harvard University and was a Kellogg Fellow with the League for Innovation in Community Colleges.
Abdullah has spent her entire career in higher education at Florida State College, which was previously known as Florida Community College, in her hometown of Jacksonville. She began her 25-year tenure as an admissions advisor and rose through the administrative ranks from associate dean to dean to associate vice president before being named campus president in 2001. Her previous administrative roles include serving as Associate Vice President of Workforce Development and Adult Education, and Dean of Instruction for Program Development.
During the past nine years, Abdullah has led a campus which enrolls more than 10,000 students and places special emphasis on associate degree programs as well as continuing education, occupational skills training, and customized programs tailored for the business community. The campus is part of a higher education system that began as a community college in 1966 and has since evolved into a five campus college serving more than 80,000 students and offering both associate and bachelor’s degrees.
Jackson said the Essex board was impressed with Abdullah’s dedication to the community college sector and her leading role in championing an array of partnerships with businesses and local school districts. “Dr. Abdullah has long demonstrated her commitment to the community college experience and its vital role in serving the educational needs of a highly diverse student population.”
It is a sentiment shared by ECC’s incoming president. “The Essex County College mission resonates clearly with my commitment both to educational access and to the role of the community college in facilitating student and community development in an environment of excellence,” Abdullah said.
While heading her Florida campus, Abdullah was instrumental in the development of the Advanced Technology Center, a cutting-edge facility dedicated to an array of workforce development training programs. She also spearheaded Pathways Academy, Florida’s first charter dropout retrieval high school, and helped secure millions of dollars in grants and in-kind contributions for her college.
Abdullah’s community and professional affiliations are extensive. For the past seven years, she has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of North Florida. She has also chaired the Jacksonville Community Council’s study on adult literacy and its impact on economic development. She sits on numerous national education advisory councils, including the National Coalition for Advanced Technology Centers and the National Advisory Council for Job Corps. She has also been inducted into the Florida Adult and Community Educators “Hall of Fame” for her dedication to adult education and workforce development.
Abdullah was one of three finalists for the Essex presidency selected from a larger group of candidates interviewed by a Board Search Committee and college-wide Advisory Search Committee. Assisting the college in its national search was the Association of Community College Trustees, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit organization specializing in the recruitment of community college leaders.