The Montgomery County Community College Board of Trustees has named Dr. Victoria Bastecki-Perez Interim President and Provost of the college until a permanent college president is named following a nationwide search in the coming months. Dr. Bastecki-Perez is stepping in for President Kevin Pollock, who is on a year-long sabbatical after he elected to not renew his contract.  

“The board of trustees has the utmost confidence in Dr. Bastecki-Perez to lead the college during this interim period,” said Frank X. Custer, chair of the board. “During her time at MCCC she has demonstrated an unshakeable devotion to the welfare and success of our students and is totally committed to the mission of the college. Dr. Bastecki-Perez has earned the deep and broad respect of the faculty and the entire college community, and we look forward to working with her to continue the excellence for which Montgomery County Community College is known,” Custer added.

For more than 30 years, Dr. Bastecki-Perez has dedicated her professional pursuits to helping students achieve their dream of a higher education, including access to college, retention, completion, and family-sustainable wage employment. In her role as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost since 2010, Dr. Bastecki-Perez provides leadership and strategic direction for the college’s five academic divisions, academic support services, Center for Faculty Success, and signature programs.

Dr. Bastecki-Perez also serves as the college’s Accreditation Liaison Officer for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, is the primary member on the Transfer Oversight Articulation Committee, and is actively involved on several educational advisory and regional workforce boards, including MontcoWorks.

During her leadership tenure, MCCC earned Achieving the Dream Leader College status multiple times and was recognized with the 2011 Leah Meyer Austin Institutional Student Success Leadership Award and the prestigious 2014 Leah Meyer Austin Award for the college’s work on improving student success and completion. In 2014, Dr. Bastecki-Perez co-received the Blackboard Catalyst Award for Student Impact, and in 2016, she received the League for Innovation John & Suanne Roueche Excellence Award. She also received the college’s Innovation of the Year Award in 2017 and 2019. 

Dr. Bastecki-Perez previously held the positions of Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs (2006-2010), Dean of Health and Physical Education (2000-2006), and Director and Professor of Dental Hygiene (1996-2003) at the College. Prior to joining MCCC in 1996, she was an award-winning faculty member and Senior Clinical Supervisor at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Dental Medicine for nine years. 

As a first-generation college graduate, Dr. Bastecki-Perez holds an Ed.D. and M.Ed. in Instructional Design and Technology from the University of Pittsburgh and a B.S. in Education from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She began her graduate coursework at Exeter College, Oxford University through the Edinboro-Oxford Experience study abroad program. She was recognized as a Distinguished Alumna by Edinboro University and by the University of Pittsburgh.

Custer said the board will move promptly to begin a nationwide search for a permanent president.