It’s now official: Martha Lavender is the president of Gadsden State Community College.

The announcement was made Tuesday, by the Alabama Community College System’s Board of Directors.

Lavender had been serving as interim president for just over a year following the departure of Helen McAlpine, who served in that capacity for only two months replacing William Blow, who had been named as interim president, in the wake of former President Raymond Staats resignation following a no-confidence vote.

Lavender began her nursing career as a graduate of Gadsden State Community College. She later received a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Jacksonville State University, eventually receiving her master’s and her doctoral degrees in nursing, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

In 2011, she retired as Dean of Health Sciences at Gadsden State.

(al.com/www.al.com)