Scholarship

Dr. McLean, an alumnus of Barber-Scotia, made history in 1974 when she became the ninth president of the 107-year old institution and the first female president. She was a steadfast force in the life of the institution both during her two non-consecutive terms and interim appointments totaling nearly 18 years. Upon her retirement, the Board of Trustees bestowed two honors upon her: Naming her President Emerita and naming the college union the Mable Parker McLean College Union. She said, "The privilege and opportunity of serving as a chief executive of my alma mater have constituted a Herculean challenge every day of the eighteen years that I served. Do I regret this time from my life? No, it was an addition to my life, a more certain means of putting something back into the very institution that gave me my entrée to a better life. For such a gift, no return is dear enough to compensate for the investment that Barber-Scotia made in me."

A member of the 42-year old United Negro College Fund (UNCF), at the time, she made history by being the first female elected to chair the Council of Presidents.

She earned her undergraduate education at Barber-Scotia College and Johnson C. Smith University and the graduate degree from Howard University. She did post-graduate work at Northwestern University, the Catholic University and Harvard University.

Her career spanned a period of about 60 years starting as an assistant director of a nursery school, a classroom teacher, a department chairperson, an academic dean, and culminating as a college president. Nearly a third of her career was spent as President of Barber-Scotia, having served at three separate times: 1974-1988, 1994-1996, and as interim 2006-2007. Dr. McLean steered the institution through some turbulent times in the 70's, 80's and mid-'90's. The institution flourished and remained a very viable part of the community under her leadership. Upon her retirement, Dr. McLean remained in the Concord community. She was involved in her community and provided leadership in various organizations, North Carolina Museum of Art ? Trustee; Member, Executive Committee of North Carolina Association of Colleges and Universities; Past-President, Concord Chapter, Delta Kappa Gamma Society of Women Educators; Member, Board of Directors, Children's Home Society of North Carolina; Chairman; Member, Cabarrus County Chamber of Commerce, Concord, NC; Sub-Committee of the Committee on Racial/Ethnic Schools and Colleges of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); Member, Executive Committee of the Committee on Higher Education of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); Adjunct Professor, Wilson College, Chambersburg, PA; Member, Board of Church Visitors of Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa, NC; Member, Board of Trustee, Barber-Scotia College; Member, Judicial Commission of the Presbytery of Mid-Atlantic; Member, Stonewall Jackson Community Advisory Council, Cabarrus County, Concord, NC; Lecturer: civic organizations, educational institutions, and churches.

Some Honors and Recognition: She was the recipient of seven honorary degrees; recipient of the Candace (can da see) Award in Education from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women; recipient of the 1986 Boule of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Award for Educational Leadership; recipient of the 1989 Woman of Faith Award by the Women's Ministry Unit of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); in 2000, she was listed among "The 100 Most Influential People Over the Last 100 Years in Concord/Cabarrus, North Carolina", the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient; and Nominated Distinguished Woman of North Carolina.

Social Affiliations: The Order of Eastern Star, The Links, Inc., and a Life Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.