WEST WINDSOR – Trenton resident Gwendolyn Harris, a career public servant and an expert in public policy, planning, and human services, was elected as the new chair of the Mercer County Community College Board of Trustees during the November board meeting.

“These are exciting times for Mercer County Community College, with the recent expansion of the Trenton Campus and the addition of several new programs, both in Trenton and West Windsor,” Harris said. “I look forward to the challenge, and I am excited with what the future holds for the college, the community, and Mercer County as a whole.”

The election of board officers coincided with MCCC’s annual Open House and Report to the Community. Harris, who previously served as board vice chair, succeeds Mark Matzen, who did not seek a second term. Marvin Gardner, Princeton Junction, was elected as the new vice chair, and Pam Hersh, Princeton, was re-elected as treasurer.

Harris serves as the executive director of the Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs at Rutgers University-Camden. Her extensive career in human services and public administration includes the founding of Newark Emergency Services of Families and serving the City of Trenton as a department director, business administrator, and chief of staff. Harris also served as commissioner of the Department of Human Services for the State of New Jersey.

Harris currently serves on the boards of the New Jersey Public Policy Research Institute and the Capital City Redevelopment Corporation. As vice chair of the MCCC Board of Trustees, she chaired the Operations Committee and participated as a member of the Human Resources and Finance committees. She chairs the Legislative Committee of the New Jersey Council of Community Colleges, is a member of the Policy Committee of the American Community College Trustees, and chairs the Northeast Region’s Nominating Committee.