FILE - PCC President Adrien Bennings speaks at the grand opening event for the college's new Dealer Service Technology Building.
Meerah Powell / OPB
Portland Community College president Adrien Bennings will leave her post at the end of June.
The PCC Board of Directors announced Thursday evening that Bennings will resign after four years leading Oregon’s largest community college, and two years before her contract is up.
Under the separation agreement between Bennings and the board, she will receive $261,000 in salary, plus a $25,000 retention bonus and benefits for nine months. Bennings’ final day as president is a month and a half away on June 30. But as of Friday, May 15, she is on leave and not expected to return to work at the college before her official departure.
Bennings’ resignation comes after a tumultuous time for the college. PCC was the site of Oregon’s first-ever community college strike, with its faculty union and classified employees union on strike at the same time earlier this year. During the nearly three-week strike, students expressed frustration with Bennings’ actions and in the weeks before the strike, staff and student government each passed a vote of no confidence in Bennings’ leadership.
In a statement shared Thursday, Bennings said she was thankful to serve PCC during a “period of significant change and impact”.
“I remain proud of the work accomplished along with so many dedicated employees, students, and community partners,” she wrote. “I leave with gratitude for the opportunity to serve PCC and with continued belief in the transformative power of community colleges.”
Bennings, PCC’s first female president, came to PCC after serving as the president of Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek, Michigan. In a statement to the college community, Board Chair Tiffani Penson thanked Bennings for her service.
“She brought strategic vision and planning, with a passion for students’ success through programs like Drive to Thrive and for strengthening the curriculum to align with Oregon’s workforce needs, serving not only students, but also the economic region of our state,” Penson wrote.
But moments of conflict sparked throughout Bennings’ tenure, not just during the recent strike. In 2024, Frank Goulard, PCC Federation of Faculty and Academic Professionals’ then-president, filed an unfair labor practice complaint, saying Bennings prohibited him and the president of another union at the college, the Federation of Classified Employees union, from speaking at an employee meeting in fall 2023.
According to the complaint, Bennings denied them an opportunity to speak because union leaders’ comments at a fall 2022 meeting changed the “tone” of that event. Earlier this year, the Portland Mercury reported that a board member filed a complaint with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission about a slogan Bennings had trademarked that was being used in PCC materials. The complaint alleged Bennings was benefiting personally from the trademarked slogan’s use by the college.
A Portland Community College sign is pictured in Portland, Ore., May 16, 2016.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
The board member who filed that complaint and the lone “no” vote to approve Bennings’ separation agreement, Kien Truong, shared his thoughts on Bennings’ resignation on social media. Truong said he disagreed with the process of the board vote, the amount of severance in the separation agreement, Bennings’ continued allowed use of her trademark, and a non-disparagement cause in the contract.
“I am troubled by the non-disparagement clause in the agreement that applies to board members and cabinet members,” Truong wrote. “While demeaning remarks about anyone are not acceptable, it is also important to be able to speak honestly about challenges the college has been facing.”
Katy Ho, PCC’s executive vice president, will become acting president.
Penson told the PCC community that Ho will provide the “collaborative, strategic, student-centered leadership our college needs.”
“She is guided by the values core to our mission and has a proven track record of fostering inclusion to advance holistic institutional visions that benefit the students and communities we serve,” Penson wrote.
“Such dedication is further reflected by the fact that Dr. Ho has requested that she maintain her current salary and compensation at this time, because this role is not about one person or a title, but about the PCC community, and working to stabilize and rebuild trust first and foremost.”
Penson said the board will share its plans when it takes up the search for a new president.
