Marissa Schlesinger Joins TCC 

Tacoma Community College is pleased to announce that Marissa R. Schlesinger is the new Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. Reporting to the TCC President, Schlesinger will begin her new position on Sept. 22, 2019. This leadership position serves as the chief academic officer of the college, providing the vision and leadership for the college’s educational programs in a collaborative and equitable manner.

“With Tacoma in the midst of dynamic growth and TCC implementing guided pathways and expanding our Bachelor of Applied Science degree program, I can imagine no better time to join the college and to lead its academic programs into a future of strength and renown,” said Schlesinger from her home in Brooklyn, New York.

Schlesinger is a product of public K-12 education and was raised in Brooklyn by a mother and grandmother who were public educators and community college graduates. She received her B.A. in the Art and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East from Smith College, and her M.A. from the University of Toronto, where she is an A.B.D. in doctoral studies of ancient Egyptian civilization. She studied Egyptology at University College London and lectures on ancient Egyptian art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

A student-centered and equity-minded leader, Schlesinger will be joining TCC after having served as Associate Dean of Curriculum and First-Year Programs at Guttman Community College in New York City. Previously, she spent 13 years in faculty and administration at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, New York. Marissa is a recent alumna of the Aspen Institute’s Presidential Fellowship for Community College Excellence. She has served as resource faculty at the Washington Center’s National Summer Institutes and, separately, has worked with dozens of community colleges across the country, helping them focus on change for the improvement of equity and student learning, completion, transfer, and labor market outcomes.

“We are honored Marissa is joining TCC, and we believe her skills, talents and knowledge will greatly advance our work for students and the community,” said TCC President Dr. Ivan Harrell. “Her deep roots in community college education says much about her passion for students, and we look forward to calling on her expertise as we continue to address how we can best serve our community.”

Schlesinger will move cross-country to her new home in Tacoma through the summer. She plans to visit the campus in July and August, as she prepares for her new role.

“TCC is a remarkable college,” she said. “It is beloved by its faculty, staff, and students. It is admired nationally for its forward-thinking curricular reforms. It is on the cutting edge of co-curricular and holistic student supports. I am honored to have been asked by President Harrell to join the college as we seek to improve our outcomes and advance our work for the benefit of our students and the city of Tacoma.”