Scottsdale Community College Names New Interim President

SCOTTSDALE, AZ —Scottsdale Community College announced Thursday that Veronica Hipolito will serve as the school's interim president beginning on Monday. Hipolito will take over for retiring Interim President Chris Haines, who's in her final week on the job.

The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) currently is in the final stages of a national search for a permanent SCC president, a position that is expected to be filled in the coming months.

Until then, Hipolito will lead the school. She currently serves as Chandler-Gilbert Community Colleges vice president of Student Affairs, providing leadership and support to advance that school's mission of student success and completion.

Before joining the MCCCD, Hipolito worked at Coconino Community College (CCC) in Flagstaff. There, she served on the leadership team that created the CCC2NAU program, a nationally recognized partnership with Northern Arizona University.

The CCC2NAU program earned the 2012 Lee Noel-Randi Levitz Retention Excellence Award and the 2012 Outstanding Institutional Advising Program Award from the National Academic Advising Association.

Hipolito received her M.A. in counseling from Northern Arizona University and was inducted into the 2021 College of Education Hall of Fame for her contributions to education, according to SCC.

Haines, meanwhile, will retire this Friday after 38 years in higher education, including 30 years within the MCCCD.

Before joining SCC in 2018, Haines spent seven years at Phoenix College as the dean of Student Affairs, vice president of Student Affairs and then interim president.

She previously had served as an adjunct instructor at Chandler-Gilbert Community College, Mesa Community College and South Mountain Community College. Haines also was in Student Affairs and Enrollment Services positions at Mesa Community College, South Mountain Community College and SCC.