Dr. Erica Lee Orians is vice president of the Michigan Community College Association, the primary advocacy organization for Michigan’s 31 public community colleges, and executive director of MCCA’s Michigan Center for Student Success, which serves as a hub connecting leadership, administrators, faculty, and staff in their emerging and ongoing efforts to improve equitable student outcomes, emphasizing linkages between practice, research, and policy. Orians previously held positions at the University of Utah, Ohio State University, Miami University– Middletown, and the Columbus College of Arts and Design.
Orians has taught undergraduate and graduate courses at several higher education institutions and is active in local, state, and national professional organizations. She earned her bachelor’s degree in history and her MA in higher education and student affairs from Ohio State University. She earned her PhD in educational leadership and policy from the University of Utah, where her dissertation focused on benchmarking and efficiency among rural community colleges.