Maria Harper-Marinick, Maricopa Community Colleges’ executive vice chancellor and provost, will serve as interim chancellor beginning next month.

Harper-Marinick will take on her new role after Chancellor Rufus Glasper leaves on Feb. 29 and will serve in the position until a new chancellor joins the district.

She has served as executive vice chancellor and provost since 2010. Before that, she held other roles within the district, including vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, as well as the serving as the district’s chief academic officer.

“Because of her extensive experience serving as executive vice chancellor and provost with Dr. Glasper, we felt Dr. Harper-Marinick was the best person to assume the position of interim chancellor,” Maricopa Board President Alfredo Gutierrez said. “I was delighted when she agreed to do so.”

Harper-Marinick has received many awards, including the 2015 Woman of the Year Award offered by the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She was featured in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education as one of 25 women who have made a difference in the world by tackling some of the toughest challenges in higher education. Finally, in 2014, Harper-Marinick was selected as one of the 50 most influential women in Arizona business by AZ Business Magazine.