By: Maria Allard | C&G Newspapers | Published March 9, 2026
MACOMB COUNTY — At press time, the Macomb Community College Board of Trustees planned to meet March 10, after the newspaper went to press, to discuss and possibly appoint a new president to lead the college.
On Feb. 24, Katherine Bracey Lorenzo, chair of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee and also of the Macomb Community College Board of Trustees, announced that the committee had referred three candidates to be interviewed by the college’s board.
The 14-member committee included representatives from the college’s board, employee groups and students, and members of community partner organizations. The three finalists referred for the board’s consideration are:
• Elizabeth (Libby) Argiri, MBA, CPA, executive vice president-administration, Macomb Community College.
• Lori M. Gonko, Ed.D., interim president, Henry Ford College.
• Charles W. Lepper, Ph.D., former president, Grand Rapids Community College.
All three candidates were interviewed by the Board of Trustees. Argiri was interviewed on March 3. Gonko was interviewed on March 4. Lepper was interviewed on March 5. College staff also set up separate forums for the community, faculty and staff, where the candidates introduced themselves, with the remainder of the session for questions by attendees.
Argiri, who joined the college as director of financial services in 2001, has more than 20 years of executive leadership experience at Macomb. She has led a broad range of administrative and operational areas, including finance, budget, grants, facilities and construction, financial aid, information technology, purchasing, health and workplace safety. Argiri also has worked in human resources, conference and event services, and risk management.
Argiri serves on the boards of Leadership Macomb and Connect Macomb, and is a task force member for Macomb County’s Blue Economy Initiative; treasurer and audit committee chair for Michigan Schools and Government Credit Union; and chair of the Michigan Community College Risk Management Authority.
Gonko has 25 years of community college experience. She joined Henry Ford College in 2012 as the Perkins Grant coordinator before becoming coordinator of program improvement and effectiveness and then was named vice president of strategy and human resources in 2018.
Gonko began her career at Macomb where she worked from 2001 to 2012, starting as an administrative assistant before becoming a coordinator and then manager in career and technical education. Gonko serves as an adjunct professor in the Doctorate in Community College Leadership program at Ferris State University and is a graduate of the Aspen Institute Excellence Program’s Rising Presidents Fellowship.
Lepper has more than 27 years of experience as a higher education leader, most recently as president and CEO of Grand Rapids Community College from 2023 to 2025. The multicampus institution serves approximately 20,000 credit and noncredit students annually. Lepper partnered with an elected board of trustees, oversaw a $130-plus million operating budget, and provided leadership across academic programs, workforce development, enrollment growth and student support services.
Previously, Lepper held senior leadership roles at Salt Lake, Tidewater and Ivy Tech community colleges, handling student affairs, enrollment, faculty development and accreditation. He also taught as an adjunct instructor at multiple organizations. Lepper’s leadership philosophy emphasizes collaboration, transparency, accountability and shared governance, grounded in data-informed decision-making.
Current President James O. Sawyer IV, who has been president since July 1, 2017, will retire June 30, 2026. He announced his retirement last fall. A national search began in November to find the next president to lead Macomb.