PRESS RELEASE
 
Contact Person:  Kevin G. Null, County Administrator
 
Date:                   March 21, 2017
 
RE:                      Garrett County Board of Education Vacancy – District 2
 
Due to the resignation of Mr. Thomas Carr from the Garrett County Board of Education, pursuant to the Maryland Education Code, the Board of Garrett County Commissioners “shall appoint a qualified individual to fill any vacancy in an elected member’s position on the board for the remainder of the term and until a successor is elected and qualifies”.
 
The Board of County Commissioners has appointed Dr. Nathan Sorber to fill the remainder of Mr. Carr’s term.
 
Dr. Nathan M. Sorber is a professor of education and the director of the Center for the Future of Land-Grant Universities at West Virginia University. He received his Ph.D. in Higher Education from Pennsylvania State University, an M.Ed. from Vanderbilt University, completed his undergraduate degree in economics at Bucknell University, and is a graduate of a rural public high school in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Sorber has published numerous works on education policy, history, and organizations, including his book Land-Grant Colleges and the Reshaping of American Higher Education (London, UK: Transaction Press, 2013) and the forthcoming books The Morrill Act in Yankeedom: A History of the Origins and Early Years of the Land-Grant Colleges (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press) and American Higher Education in the Postwar Era (New York, NY: Routledge).  Sorber and his wife Dr. Erin C. McHenry-Sorber (also a professor at West Virginia University) live in Friendsville with their daughter Ainsley (age 7) who attends Friendsville Elementary School.  Sorber coaches his daughter’s basketball and soccer teams, volunteers with the PTO, and attends the McHenry United Methodist Church.
 
Sorber states, “I am honored that the Garrett County Board of Commissioners has appointed me to this important position, at this critical time.  It is my intention to work diligently to preserve the tradition of excellence in Garrett County schools.  There will of course be difficult decisions ahead for the board, but I am confident that we can chart a course of academic distinction and financial sustainability.  I look forward to working with the dedicated teachers, administrators, staff, students, community members, the board of commissioners, and the board of education to pursue our shared vision in the weeks and months to come.”