Trending
The Marietta College Board of Trustees picked a veteran college president as its interim leader.
Margaret L. Drugovich, who retired in 2022 after 14 years as president of Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., will serve as the college's interim president beginning July 1, according to a release posted Friday on the college's website.
"We are very pleased to have Dr. Drugovich step into the interim president role," said Mary Korn, chairwoman of Marietta College's Board of Trustees. "She has demonstrated a passion for the liberal arts and a strong grasp for the importance of strategic governance. At the same time, she has also displayed an understanding of the demands that small colleges are facing with enrollment and financial trends. She has proven herself as someone who quickly identifies issues and rises to the challenge."
Drugovich said in the release that she is pleased to be returning to a campus and excited about the opportunities that await at Marietta.
"Marietta College's long-standing commitment to delivering a high-quality education that enables the personal growth of its students is truly impressive," she said. "The benefits can be readily seen in the success of the college's graduates and in the pride these alumni take in their association with the college. I very much look forward to working with the college's students, faculty and administration, the local community, alumni and Board of Trustees as we set the stage for the next chapter in the college's history."
Korn said everyone she spoke with regarding Drugovich's tenure as Hartwick's 10th president agreed that she led the institution through a period of transformational change and positively positioned Hartwick for a bright future.
"The board's goal was to find someone who could have a transformational impact on Marietta while setting the groundwork to ease the transition for the next permanent president when they start sometime in 2024," Korn said.
During her time at Hartwick, Drugovich developed the Organizing Principle & Strategic Framework that guided decision-making and measured college performance against its strategic goals. She addressed college affordability by launching a three-year degree program in 2009, a degree option available in most Hartwick majors. She also oversaw the completion of a record-setting $34.7 million comprehensive campaign that was focused on funding student scholarships.
Prior to her time at Hartwick, Drugovich was the vice president for strategic communications and university enrollment (2006-08) and vice president of admission and financial aid (1998-2005) at Ohio Wesleyan University. During her nine years at Bryant University she served as the executive assistant to the president and dean of admission and financial aid, among other roles. She began her career in higher education as a health care policy researcher at the Brown University Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research.
Drugovich holds a doctoral degree from Case Western Reserve University, a master's degree from Brown and a bachelor's degree from Albertus Magnus College.
"Throughout my career, I have been inspired by the colleagues with whom I have worked, the students we have served and the ever-present challenge of leveraging resources to their best and most effective use," Drugovich said. "Education changes lives for the better and provides the foundation for our collective future. We are so fortunate to be able to engage in such valuable and meaningful work at Marietta College."
Drugovich grew up in Geneva, Ohio, and was the first in her family to attend college. She and her wife, Elizabeth Steele, have two children.
Korn said the board will now turn its attention to the national search for the college's 20th president and will announce a presidential search committee soon.