Dr. Cynthia S. Bambara
Appointed by the Board of Trustees, the president is the chief executive officer of Allegany College of Maryland.
Dr. Cynthia S. Bambara was appointed ACM’s fifth president in 2011. She is the College’s
first woman to serve as president.
During her tenure, Dr. Bambara has spearheaded ACM’s major efforts, including the
following:
Dr. Bambara is a veteran community college administrator. She was previously an interim president of Central Virginia Community College and the vice president of Student Success at Lord Fairfax Community College.
She received a Ph.D. in Community College Leadership from Colorado State University, an M.Ed. in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of South Alabama, and a B.S. in Psychology from Juniata College.
Dr. Bambara received Phi Theta Kappa's Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction in 2016. She was selected as one of Maryland's Top 100 Women in 2024.
She is a 2012 graduate of Leadership Allegany. Dr. Bambara is involved with a variety of organizations, including the following:
Allegany College of Maryland is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education(MSCHE), 1007 North Orange Street, 4th Floor, MB #166, Wilmington, DE 19801; 267-284-5011.
The MSCHE is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary
of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. MSCHE offers the
Statement of Accreditation Status for Allegany College of Maryland on their website.
The College is also accredited and approved for operation by the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC), 6 North Liberty Street, Baltimore, MD 21201; (800) 974-0203. The Pennsylvania Department of Education has granted certification to Allegany College of Maryland campus in Bedford county
and to the academic programs they offer.
Reports conducted by Allegany College of Maryland for MSCHE are stored with the Office
of Institutional Effectiveness, Research, and Planning.