Anne Arundel Community College president Dawn Lindsay is stepping down after 13 years, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the school announced Wednesday.

Lindsay, the community college’s sixth president, will retire June 30, school officials said in a statement released two days after they celebrated their 64th year of operation. Lindsay’s tenure has been marked by development and national recognition for the Arnold-based school, officials said.

The Clauson Center for Innovation and Skilled Trades and the Health and Life Sciences Building opened in 2021. Most recently, officials signed an agreement that says graduates of Anne Arundel Community College have completed general education requirements for Morgan State University, making for a smoother process for students transferring to get their bachelor’s degrees.

Lindsay brought in the college’s first chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, a position the school continues to hold despite cuts to funding for such programs. Anne Arundel Community College received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award four times under Lindsay’s leadership. Professors and instructional staff also unionized in March.

This year, the school ranked as the best community college in Maryland and among the top five in the country, according to Intelligent.com. Lindsay attributed such achievement to the AACC community: faculty, staff and students.

“The dedication, innovation, and unwavering commitment of our faculty and staff to student success have been a constant source of inspiration,” Lindsay said in a statement. “Together, we have embraced challenges and opportunities with integrity and creativity, always striving to advance the mission of this remarkable college.”

Before her tenure in Anne Arundel County, Lindsay led Glendale Community College in California for five years, according to her LinkedIn profile. She also served as dean of Riverside Community College. A native Marylander, Lindsay started her career as a counselor in Carroll County and had a stint at Dundalk Community College.

In addition to her leadership here, Lindsay advocates for community colleges as a board member for the League for Innovation in the Community College and the American Association of Community Colleges, school officials said. She was recently inducted into the Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce Business Hall of Fame.

The AACC board of trustees thanked Lindsay for her service and pledged a fair, inclusive and transparent search for the next president through an external search firm.

Lindsay had been selected from a pool of 120 applicants and took over the college in its 51st year. Her goal then? Growth.

“To take this college and facilitate continued growth is something that I look forward to because of the foundation that you all have created for forward movement,” she said in her first address to students, faculty and staff.