Dr. Adrien Bennings is out as president at Portland Community College after the board of directors announced a “mutual separation agreement” on May 14 that includes a severance package of nine months of salary and health benefits, plus a $25,000 “retention” bonus. Bennings, who had been set to serve at college through June 30, 2028, was the first Black female president of Oregon’s largest college.
Bennings’ departure follows a “historic strike” at the college — the first community college strike in Oregon’s history, KOIN reports. The Federation of Faculty and Academic Professionals began the strike on March 11, and it lasted three weeks. The union reached a deal with the college just before the start of the 10-week spring term. Another union, the Federation of Classified Employees, staged a strike at the college during the same time that lasted two weeks.
Portland CC announced that Executive Vice President Dr. Katy Ho will step in as acting president.
Dr. Adrien Bennings was the first Black female president of Portland Community College, Oregon's largest institution.
The bigger picture:
Portland Community College’s budget picture is dismal. The college is facing $18 million in cuts for the current budget cycle, which would follow $11.3 million it already cut, and is already “bracing” for another $21 million in cuts for the 2027-29 budget cycle, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.
When the faculty union secured an agreement that includes a 2% cost of living adjustment this year, followed by 3% cost of living adjustment the following year, Bennings stated that “our hearts are heavy because we know that this agreement is so far outside of our budget that it will result in significant additional cuts in the future.” In its agreement with its 700 classified employees, the college agreed to pay a $1,350 lump sum payment to each employee and allow the employees to cash out up to 40 vacation hours, according to KOIN.
And it isn't alone – the University of Oregon recently reported a $65 million budget shortfall as well.
Union officials have criticized PCC for increasing the budget for the college president’s office by $17 million and setting aside “large sums to non-student-facing special projects and contingency funds,” according to OPB.
Portland Community College is hardly the only institution that is struggling to make ends meet in Oregon. Portland State University recently announced that it was laying off 52 staff members to save $16 million and axing its university studies program – where students do projects that tackle real-world problems in Portland – to save an additional $10.7 million, Ashland.news reports.
The university’s financial woes “largely stem from years of declining student enrollment, increasing personnel costs and flat financial support from the state,” Ashland.news states, citing a January 2026 report on “spending and efficiency” at Oregon’s public universities. “The combination of these three factors are quickly becoming impediments for the state’s other public universities too,” the news site stated.
