President's Biography
Dr. Carol A. Leary became president of Bay Path College in December 1994. Under her leadership, Bay Path has added a graduate school, enriched and enlarged the curriculum with new baccalaureate programs and professional certificates, expanded and renovated major campus buildings, and launched a unique One-Day-A-Week Saturday College for adult women.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Boston University, she earned her MS at the State University of New York at Albany and her Ph.D. at The American University in Washington, DC. She has also attended the Education Roundtable for Presidents and Chancellors at Oxford University, and the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University.
Carol is extremely committed to providing educational opportunities for Bay Path students by broadening their exposure to the world. One of her first actions upon arriving on campus was the creation of the annual Capitals of the World trip. Every spring break, she accompanies a group of Bay Path students in a week-long cultural and historic trip to a capital such as Rome, Paris, Dublin or London. An avid world traveler often escorted by her husband, Noel, she has also encouraged the growth of the Study Abroad Program in order to prepare all Bay Path students for a world that is increasingly more complex and global.
An advocate for developing leadership skills that will be invaluable for professional and personal development, as well as community service, Carol has spoken to this topic to a wide array of groups. She has also overseen the creation of the largest professional gathering of women in western New England—Bay Path’s Women’s Professional Development Conference. In recognition of her efforts in this area, she received the 2007 District I Chief Executive Leadership Award from CASE (the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education) and was the recipient of the 2007 Women in Criminal Justice Edna Mahan Award for Innovative Leadership.
Throughout her tenure Carol has emphasized community and professional service, and leads by example. Currently, she is the Treasurer of the Women’s College Coalition, and a trustee and former chair and now a member of the Executive Committee of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts. She has served as chair of WGBY/Public Television, the Cooperating Colleges of Greater Springfield, and the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Massachusetts. She also serves on the boards of MassMutual Financial Group, The Frank Stanley Beveridge Foundation, Inc., and United Bank.
Among her many civic awards are the “Woman of Distinction” from the Pioneer Valley Girl Scout Council; “Women of Achievement” from the Y.W.C.A.; the 2002 “Woman of the Year” award from the Women’s Partnership of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield; and the 2005 Heart of Gold Award from the Greater Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Heart Association. In March 2006 Carol was honored by the U.S. Postal Service during National Women’s History Month saluting “Women: Builders of Communities and Dreams.”
A native of Niagara Falls, New York, she is a first-generation college graduate who credits her supportive family and the power of education for helping her to achieve her dreams. She lives on campus with her husband of over 35 years, Noel, and their door is always open to the Bay Path community.
