Hudson County Community College Announces Appointment of Interim President
May 28, 2026
The Hudson County Community College Board of Trustees will appoint Dr. Lisa Dougherty as Interim President at their June 9, 2026 meeting. Dr. Dougherty currently serves as the College’s Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment.
May 28, 2026, Jersey City, NJ – Hudson County Community College (HCCC) Board of Trustees Chair Jeanette Peña announced that HCCC Senior Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Dr. Lisa Dougherty will be named Interim President at the June 9, 2026 Board of Trustees meeting. Dr. Dougherty will lead the College as the Board conducts a national search to identify the next President of HCCC.
In late April, Dr. Christopher Reber, the College’s current President since 2018, resigned HCCC to accept the position of President of Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania.
“It is our pleasure to appoint Dr. Dougherty to this position,” said Trustees Chair Peña. “In the decade she has been at HCCC, she has consistently focused on student success and has overseen the provisions of on-campus and remote support services for HCCC students. As a first-generation college student, she knows and understands the challenges our students face and has worked collaboratively to remove roadblocks and help empower students so they can complete their higher education dreams.”
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Dougherty into this role as we enter a time of transition at the College,” said Hudson County Executive Craig Guy. “With the support of my Administration, the Board of Trustees, the Unions, and faculty, we know that Dr. Dougherty will maintain the access to opportunities and support our students have always enjoyed at HCCC.”
Dr. Dougherty came to HCCC in 2016 as Dean of Enrollment and was promoted to Senior Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment in 2019. She worked in partnership across HCCC and throughout the community to develop and implement several groundbreaking programs, including the HCCC Hudson Helps Resource Center, a compendium of wraparound services that meet students’ holistic needs; Hudson Scholars, the College’s nationally acclaimed Bellwether and League for Innovation award-winning student success program; the HCCC Mental Health Counseling and Wellness Center; and Generation Hope’s Family U initiative to support student parents.
Prior to coming to HCCC, Dr. Dougherty was the National Director of Admissions and Training at Ross University School of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, and Executive Director of Admissions at DeVry University and Keller Graduate School of Management. She earned her Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership from Rowan University, Master of Human Resources Management degree from Keller Graduate School of Management, and Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Loyola University Maryland. She was a Fellow in the 2019-2020 Aspen Institute College Excellence Program Rising Presidents Program. Recently, Dr. Dougherty received the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society’s Distinguished College Administrator Award, and she will be presented the New Jersey Council of County College’s 2026 Dr. Lawrence A. Nespoli Leadership Award on June 10, 2026.