Bucks County Community College President Dr. Felicia Ganther announced her resignation Thursday after just two years in the position. She will officially step down at the end of the Fall 2023 semester.

Ganther attributed her abrupt departure to personal issues. “The passing of three of my presidential colleagues unexpectedly in the past few weeks and other personal challenges have made me reevaluate my purpose for the work I do and my life priorities,” she said, appearing via Zoom and reading a prepared statement at the college’s Board of Trustees meeting in Tyler Hall.

But her announcement comes just months after the college’s faculty union, the Federation of Teachers, held a vote of no-confidence in her leadership. Ganther was the top choice of faculty at the time of her hiring and staff had “expected a strong collaborative relationship but it had not materialized,” Federation President John Sheridan said at the time.

In her resignation announcement, Ganther expressed pride in the work she had done as president. “I have fallen in love with Bucks and am proud of the great strides we have made over the past two years. However, I have decided to transition to new professional opportunities where I can pursue my passion to work with students and engage them in phenomenal student experiences, bringing the community into the college’s space, and partnering to create a web of support for students who need us the most.”

In her statement, Ganther said the college had seen two years of record levels philanthropic giving, and had secured grants totaling $4 million.

When she started as president, one of her main goals was to improve enrollment by getting involved with K-12 schools in the area. She said she had “developed an unprecedented and growing partnership with all K-12 Bucks County school districts in which we are not only providing dual enrollment but aligning career pathways and providing essential exposure to students and their parents on how Bucks can serve them now and in the future.”

She was elected president in 2021, and her contract would not have expired until July 1, 2024. She made history as the first Black woman to hold the president position at Bucks.

Ganther’s tenure as president coincided with the Covid pandemic that decimated enrollment at community colleges nationwide. Bucks’ enrollment plunged during this period and the college still faces a multimillion dollar deficit as it works to boost enrollment numbers.