AACC President Dawn Lindsay will never forget what she did on March 13, 2020. She closed the college.
Just as the world was falling victim to one of the deadliest pandemics in history, Lindsay, who had been president of the college since 2012, extended the upcoming spring break from one week to two when it wasn’t clear how long the emergency would last. Two weeks turned into three, which turned into 17 months of online-only classes for students and remote work for staff.
“We had never had an experience like COVID,” she said. “Nobody had been through it.”
She oversaw a computer distribution for students and faculty, grocery deliveries from the campus food bank and a makeshift graduation ceremony she dubbed “carmencement” so graduates and their families could drive around Ring Road to the cheers of friends and faculty, who were standing on the curb—all six feet apart.
Six years later, Lindsay is preparing to retire from the school where she said, when she arrived, “There was nothing broken. I didn’t come here to fix anything.”
Lindsay’s retirement date is July 1, and the college is beginning the long process of finding her replacement. But she said she’s ready to go.
“I spent a lot of time at work, and now I want to be able to focus on just different things and putting my family first,” Lindsay said.
Among her plans: enrolling her beagle, Henry, in obedience training; registering for culinary classes here at the college; and possibly becoming a part-time Pilates instructor. She also plans to travel with a cousin, also a one-time college president, who is retiring at the same time.
“I might volunteer at … the dog shelter,” Lindsay said. “I am an animal lover, and I think anybody that really knows me knows what it’s all about.”
Still, Lindsay said she will miss coming to campus.
“I’m going to miss the people,” Lindsay said. “I’ve been here 14 years. I love it. I love the campus. I enjoy working with the people I have the opportunity to work with.”
That includes students, she said.
“So [it’s] a lot of fun being in the presence of students,” Lindsay said. “For me, it’s… very energizing. I love the fact that students trust us.”
That trust, she learned after the recent snow storm, goes both ways.
After she slipped on the ice while walking outdoors with Henry, she went for an X-ray. Her technician is an AACC radiology student.
“Anne Arundel Community College, just touching people’s lives in so many different ways, in so many different directions, but for the benefit of the student,” she said.
Lindsay said she hopes her legacy will be leaving the college as a place of “belonging, making sure that everybody feels welcome here, regardless of background, where they’re coming from. We want to be their answer for their educational needs.”
Student Government Association President Chris Chambers has worked closely with Lindsay during his term as the student body’s leader.
“She really does care about the school and how the students feel at the school, and to make sure that they’re trying to have the best experience they can have,” Chambers, a second-year engineering and physics student, said. “So it’s been great to work with her, because seeing how much she cares, and she’s definitely earned her retirement, and I wish her the best going forward.”
