Sharon Hart

Sharon Hart
President of RIT Kosovo
In office 2016–2019
President of Northern Marianas College
In office 2011–2016
Succeeded by	David Peter J. Attao (acting)
President of North Dakota State College of Science
In office 2000–2006
Personal details
Education	Michigan State University Indiana State University University of Illinois

Sharon Hart is an American academic administrator who served as president of Northern Marianas College from 2011 to 2016 and RIT Kosovo from 2016 to 2019. Her career has been characterized by her work in securing institutional accreditation, as well as by votes of no confidence from faculty at several institutions where she served, including at North Dakota State College of Science.

Education

Hart holds a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University and a master's degree from Indiana State University. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, where her dissertation focused on the role of women in non-traditional careers and salary disparities. She completed the Management of Lifelong Education Institute at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Career

Hart was a K-12 teacher, department chair, college faculty member, Dean, and Vice President. Her early career included the presidency of Middlesex Community College in Middletown, Connecticut. She resigned from this role on January 19, 2000, which followed an April 1999 vote of no confidence from faculty who were concerned that her focus on vocational training would be detrimental to academic programs. She also worked as the vice president for academic and student affairs at Northcentral Technical College in Wisconsin.

For six years, Hart was the president of North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) in Wahpeton, North Dakota, a tenure that ended with her resignation in September 2006. Her departure followed a faculty petition for a vote of no confidence in August 2006, which cited that she was frequently off campus and traveling. The vote passed with a 95 to 1 margin. It was the second such vote she faced at NDSCS. A previous one in 2002 had failed to pass.

Northern Marianas College

In 2011, Hart was specifically hired as the president of Northern Marianas College (NMC) to lead the effort to regain its institutional accreditation with the U.S. Western Association of Schools and Colleges. At the time, the college had been placed on "Show Cause Status," a final step before the potential loss of accreditation and closure. Hart was the board's second choice for the position after the top candidate rejected the offer. Within one year, she prepared the college for a visit that resulted in NMC regaining full institutional accreditation.

During her time at NMC, Hart successfully led the effort for the Pacific islands to gain membership in the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), which allowed Pacific Islanders to attend college in 15 U.S. states at in-state tuition rates. For this work, she was appointed to the WICHE Commission by the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands and was subsequently elected to its executive committee.

In December 2012, 19 of 23 full-time faculty members at NMC passed a vote of no confidence against her. The reasons cited included allegations of financial mismanagement, unethical conduct, and jeopardizing the college's accreditation. The specific accusations included overspending on off-island travel and hiring her husband as a foundation consultant. Hart denied the claims. That same month, she publicly opposed a proposal to merge the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Public School System with NMC.

In November 2015, Hart announced that she would not renew her contract, which was set to end in July 2016. On February 4, 2016, she began an extended leave of absence, and David Peter J. Attao was appointed acting president.

RIT Kosovo

In May 2016, Hart was named the new president of RIT Kosovo, becoming the first woman to lead the institution. She served in this role from 2016 to 2019.

Personal life

In 2020, Hart resided in Kosovo with her family.