Joseph L. Cassidy, JD is the 15th President of Saint Joseph’s College of Maine. He has been involved in education for more than 30 years, serving students as an elementary school teacher, high school teacher, college professor, and for 10 years as a college President in the Maine Community College System. He joined Saint Joseph’s in 2023 following five successful years as President of SMCC, Maine’s largest community college with more than 6,000 students. He was previously president of Washington County Community College (WCCC) for five years, and for one year as interim president of Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor.
Since joining the team at Saint Joseph’s College, Joe has focused on redesigning the college’s practices to more closely align with the demands of higher education today. These efforts have included reinventing college recruitment and marketing processes, updating SJC’s entire online learning program, establishing a Lifelong Learning Initiative focusing on short term and non-credit classes, and adoption of an Artificial Intelligence approach that will ensure proper use of the new technology by students and employees.
Joe’s eclectic career has also included work as an attorney for a prominent Maine law firm, and as an Assistant District Attorney in Washington County, Maine. He was once mayor of the City of Calais.
Joe lives in Standish, Maine with his wife, Vanessa, and son, Max, who is a Junior at Catholic University in Washington D.C.