State Fair Community College’s Executive Director of Strategic Services, Darci McFail, has been named President of the Council on Accreditation of Two-Year Colleges (CATYC). McFail’s presidency follows her year-long term as President-Elect and was announced at CATYC’s 2024 annual conference Sept. 22-24.
“I am honored to serve as the president of CATYC,” said McFail. “For nearly 90 years, this organization has been dedicated to supporting two-year colleges in their continuous drive to meet the standards of excellence aligned with accreditation. We recently adopted a new mission and altered the organization’s name to reflect a broader purpose and to demonstrate our commitment to expanding CATYC’s impact and effectiveness for our member institutions.”
Founded in the 1930s as an outgrowth of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, the organization initially sought to address a gap in representation for two-year colleges within the larger association. Originally known as the Council of North Central Two-Year Colleges, the organization serves institutional members nationwide, promotes accreditation standards, and supports initiatives that advance two-year college programs and services.
CATYC’s upcoming annual convention, hosted by McFail in St. Louis in October 2025, will adopt the theme Advancing Together.
“This theme mirrors the organization’s new moniker, the Council to Advance Two-Year Colleges,” said McFail. “It emphasizes CATYC’s great strengths: building relationships with colleagues, gathering ideas, and developing solutions with other community college leaders nationwide.”
As President, McFail will oversee CATYC’s initiatives to provide professional development as well as support two-year colleges in their continuous drive to meet the standards of excellence defined within the criteria for accreditation.
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