After six years heading up Delaware County Community College, DCCC President L. Joy Gates Black announced she will retire in June 2023, writes Kennedy Rose for Philadelphia Business Journal.

Gates Black was the 55-year-old community college’s first Black and first female president.

No successor has been announced.

Delaware County Community College serves about 10,000 students at its Media campus.

College diversity was an important concern for Gates Black. She created the college’s Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She also launched a talk program “Dialogues for Diversity.”

Calling her retirement a “bittersweet decision” Gates Black said she needs to tend to her elderly parents and other family members.

 “​​These individuals have been my strongest supporters throughout my career (they were emphatic that I come to DCCC), and now it is time for me to make them my priority,” Gates Black said in a statement.

DCCC and West Chester University partnered last year to create the Moon Shot for Equity initiative that encourages more inclusive academic advising, community partnerships and elimination of equity gaps.

Gates Black was vice chancellor for academic affairs and student success at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, Texas before joining DCCC.

Read more at Philadelphia Business Journal about the retirement of L. Joy Gates Black.