Trident Technical College President Mary Thornley is an educational whirling dervish. For 50 years, she’s been an innovator who brought a dizzying array of programs to the campus as enrollment grew from 8,000 students in 1991 to more than 13,000 this year.
On June 1, she’s retiring, according to a Sept. 26 announcement to the college’s area commissioners. But it’s a safe bet she won’t disappear.
“I realize I will never be ready to leave, so I must leave Trident Tech without being ready,” she said Tuesday at a commission meeting.
Thornley, the college’s fifth president, began her career at Trident Tech in 1973 as an adjunct instructor. After quickly becoming a full-time instructor, she served as a department head, a dean and vice president. In 1991, she became the college’s president.
In the months before her retirement, the college will conduct a national search chaired by Anita Zucker, the Charleston philanthropist who is chair of the college’s area commission. Per state policy, others on the search committee will include the chair of the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education or another board member and a president of another technical college in South Carolina. The search process is expected to take up to eight months.
Tim Hardee, president of the S.C. Technical College System, said Trident Tech has become a cornerstone of the community under Thornley’s leadership.
“Her visionary contributions have left an indelible mark on the institution and enriched the lives of numerous South Carolinians,” he told the Charleston City Paper. “While Dr. Thornley will be sincerely missed, her legacy is forever etched in the hearts and minds of countless individuals whose lives have been transformed by her innovative and groundbreaking initiatives.”
Zucker also touted Thornley’s leadership.
“Her unwavering commitment to meeting the ever-evolving needs of our region has been a key factor in the Lowcountry’s continued growth and economic success,” she said. “As we begin the process to find her successor, we look ahead with hope, eager to welcome a new president who shares her boundless ambition and tireless drive to meet the college’s mission to educate the individual, accelerate the economy, and inspire the future.”
According to the college, some notable highlights during Thornley’s 32-year tenure as president include:
- Third largest in undergrads. Trident Tech is the state’s third largest college in undergraduate enrollment among South Carolina’s colleges.
- Lots of space. The college’s physical size in facilities has grown from just over a half-million square feet to 1.3 million square feet.
- More campuses. It also grew from three campuses in 1991 to five campuses and two training sites today across the three-county area.
- More money. The college’s foundation grew in assets from $812,983 in 1991 to $18 million this year.
- Meets needs. After a culinary school left town about 20 years ago, the college expanded and enhanced its food and hospitality offerings at its North Charleston campus and Palmer Campus in downtown Charleston. It also launched a youth apprenticeship program in a workforce training effort that led to almost 700 people getting tech and business jobs since 2014. A recent example of meeting growing needs includes securing $5 million in state funding for a new Electric Vehicle Institute, which will support workers in the manufacturing and servicing of electric vehicles.
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