Dr. Donald C. MacMaster Biography

About Dr. MacMaster:
Dr. Don MacMaster began at ACC in 1991 and became ACC's 8^th president in 2015.  He has a Bachelor's degree from University of Michigan, a Master's degree from Central Michigan University, and a Doctorate in Community College Leadership from Ferris State University.  Coming up on the workforce side, he saw early on the critical role of the community college when a local paper mill employing about 190 production workers and 35 office staff closed permanently in June 2001.  Sorting through the TAA process and getting workers into retraining clarified the community college mission in almost every way that matters.  Now the former paper mill is home to the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, a regional treasure of innovation, shipwreck preservation, and Great Lakes water quality and conservation.  A career highlight for MacMaster was winning the United States Department of Labor's national award in the category of Educating the Nation's 21^st Century Workforce in 2007.

MacMaster and his wife of 31 years, Dr. Tina Rossi, are the proud parents of four children: Dr. Rachel MacMaster, who works for the Office of Sixty x 30; Joseph, an MSU astrophysics and philosophy graduate currently pursuing a CPA from Western Governors; Rebecca, a master's in divinity graduate from the University of Chicago doing faith formation work in downtown Detroit; and Dr. Sarah MacMaster, starting her third year of medical school at MSU's College of Medicine.  The MacMasters are true believers in community colleges, particularly Alpena Community College, and the transformative role these scrappy institutions often play in the lives of local people.