Dr. Tracy McGrady, who has served as provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs at Ozarks Technical Community College since 2017, announced today that after more than two decades of service to the college, she will retire in July.
McGrady, who has led the college’s academic affairs division through years of progress and new program development, will leave Ozarks Tech in an era of forward momentum.
“Dr. McGrady is one of the most talented, strategic and caring executives with whom I have ever worked,” said Ozarks Tech Chancellor Hal Higdon. “She has earned the respect of the college and community and has helped to lead us to a very successful place in terms of our academic offerings. I am incredibly grateful for everything she has done for Ozarks Tech.”
McGrady began her career with Ozarks Tech as an adjunct communications instructor in 1995. In August 2001, she moved to full-time faculty. It was during the eight years she worked as a faculty member that McGrady also assumed the role of grants director. This eventually led her to positions working as the assistant to the vice chancellor and then dean of academic and student affairs at the Ozarks Tech Richwood Valley Campus.
In 2017, she was appointed to the role of provost upon the retirement of Dr. Steven Bishop.
As provost, McGrady serves as the chief academic officer for the college, overseeing faculty, curriculum, assessment and institutional priorities in support of the college’s overarching mission. Working with the deans, faculty committees and senior officers, she develops the institution’s academic priorities and oversees their implementation. McGrady also oversees all academic support functions at the college, such as tutoring, disability support, and library services
“When I started, I thought teaching was the best job in the world and that I would retire from that role,” McGrady said. “But helping students is a calling and I am happy that I have been able to do that in so many different capacities over my nearly 28 years in higher education.”
Among the highlights of her career, McGrady points to how the college pivoted to keep classes going during the pandemic, as well as her work at the state level to bring the bachelor’s degree in respiratory therapy to Ozarks Tech, making the institution the first community college in Missouri to confer a bachelor’s degree. Supporting faculty also tops her list, with the development of the Center for Academic Innovation at the college as a means of development and collaboration for adjunct and full-time faculty.
“While I never thought my career would take me where it has, I am so grateful for the opportunities and that I have been able to work with so many people who are dedicated to higher learning and seeing students succeed,” McGrady said.
Ozarks Tech will begin the search process for a new provost this month, with plans to conduct first-round interviews at the end of February through March 3 with a successor announced in April.
