HCC Plant City Gets New President

The following report was submitted by Angela Waters, a community relations and marketing manager for Hillsborough Community College.

______________

Hillsborough Community College has chosen Dr. Martyn Clay to serve as the campus president of the Plant City campus. Dr. Clay joins the college with over 18 years of higher education experience including 11 years in senior administration in higher education. 

“Dr. Clay’s vast experience includes senior level positions in academic affairs and student services and enrollment management,” said HCC President Dr. Ken Atwater.  “He also brings the unique value of having worked at a university system and in the U.S. Army. We are excited to have Dr. Clay help shape the future of the Plant City Campus.”  

Currently serving as Provost for Academic and Student Affairs at Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell, Dr. Clay has helped establish new standards for academic outcomes to emphasize retention and degree completion, developed programs that support regional business and industry needs, improved developmental education curriculum, developed new revenue streams, and acquired major grant funding. He also has local roots having served as the associate vice president of academic and student affairs at St. Petersburg College and adjunct associate professor at the University of Florida.

The Plant City Campus is located in eastern Hillsborough County, offering an array of programs to approximately 7,300 students. In addition to an associate in arts and an associate in science degree, the campus and an off-site center at MacDill Air Force Base offer workforce training programs include nursing, veterinary technology, environmental sciences and community service programming.

For the past ten years, HCC has been in partnership with the University of Florida to offer four bachelor's degrees at the campus in food and agricultural sciences. HCC Plant City also houses the Institute of Florida Studies (IFS). IFS is a community-based educational center designed for the study of ecology, biology, earth sciences and natural history of Florida.

Dr. Clay earned a bachelor of arts degree from Bucknell University, a master of arts degree from Webster University, and a doctor of education degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Pending District Board of Trustees approval on May 23, he will succeed Dr. Felix Haynes, who is retiring on June 1 after 13 years as campus president. 

Hillsborough Community College serves more than 48,000 students annually on campuses on Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa and in Brandon, Plant City, Ruskin and Ybor City. Hillsborough Community College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. For more information, please visit hccfl.edu.