John Charles Norman, longtime higher education administrator, passed away on October 6. He was 87 years old.
Born in Greenville, South Carolina, and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, Dr. Norman attended Trinity College in Hartford on a full academic scholarship. At the time of his enrollment, he was one of two African Americans in his class and one of six African Americans among the more than 1,000 students at the college.
After a stint working in insurance, Dr. Norman became director of the Connecticut Pre-Collegiate Enrichment Program (ConnPEP), an initiative between the University of Connecticut and the Connecticut State Department of Education to support promising students from low-income backgrounds who had collegiate aspirations. During his 16 years with the initiative, Dr. Norman earned his Ph.D. in education administration from the University of Connecticut.
Dr. Norman went on to hold executive positions at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, Florida Memorial University in Miami, and Middlebury College in Vermont. Later, he transitioned his career to community college administration, assuming a leadership role at Baltimore County Community College in Maryland. In his final role before retirement, he served as dean of student services and dean of continuing education and workforce development at Northwestern Connecticut Community College.
