Barbara Viniar, executive director of the Cornell/State University of New York Institute for Community College Development (ICCD), will leave Cornell to become president of Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, Md., beginning July 1.

Viniar has served as director of the community college institute since 2003, and she previously served nine years as president of Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, Mass. Before that, she served in various roles at Rockland Community College in Rockland, N.Y.

When asked during a recent visit to her new campus why she wanted the position, she replied, "I believe in community colleges. I'm attracted by the beauty of the area, the size of the college and the culture here."

Viniar will be the first woman president in the regional community college's 43-year history.

ICCD is a partnership between SUNY and Cornell for providing leadership programming and research support for community college CEOs, administrators, faculty and trustees across the nation.

The institute is housed at Cornell's ILR School in the Extension Division. Besides leadership training, it also supports analysis of educational, social, political and economic issues of importance to community colleges and peer institutions through research, consulting and outreach.