Growing up in a military family, Dr. Mark Erickson learned from a young age the impact that travel and new cultures had on his perception of the world. He would take these early lessons with him throughout his entire career. “I grew up during the civil rights movement of the late ’60s, which has had a profound effect on my commitment to issues of diversity, equity and inclusion,” says Erickson.
During his undergraduate years, Erickson enrolled at Princeton University, later graduating with a 4.0 GPA. “My time at Princeton was all about pushing my own boundaries, exposing me to new possibilities, stretching my thinking and learning how to learn,” says Erickson. It was during his time at Princeton that Erickson met his mentor, assistant dean of students Carl Wartenburg, who would have a profound impact on his career. “He literally changed my life,” says Erickson. “I thought ‘Gosh, I want to do what he does. He’s making an impact on people’s lives.’ So that is what started me down the road to higher education.”
After receiving his master’s in education from Harvard University, Erickson spent his career growing in his field, starting as a residence hall director at Framingham State College, becoming the assistant dean of students at the University of South Carolina and later spending 22 years working six different positions at Lehigh University before becoming president of Wittenberg University. “I have never really looked back,” says Erickson. “I have had the good fortune of spending pretty much my entire career—spanning several decades, in academia, on both the public and private sides—working in nearly every sector of higher education.”
Erickson, who has now spent the last eight and a half years of his life as president of Northampton Community College, understands the innovative and impactful education that a community college has to offer. “Community colleges are truly at the nexus of higher education,” he says. “And what community colleges do best—providing educational access, fostering entrepreneurship and stimulating economic development—is exactly where a large part of the discussion about higher education is focused right now, especially as we begin to think about a post-pandemic world.”
