Dr. Lamata Mitchell’s appointment as the next president of Kettering College became official Jan. 16, as she was inaugurated at the Kettering Seventh-day Adventist Church.

“It was a sense of circumstances calling, where the Lord had been leading me in life,” said Dr. Mitchell, the first woman and person of color to lead the college. “When people ask me, ‘why Kettering College?’ I tell them it was something I couldn’t say no to.”

The church, which sits across from Kettering College, was near capacity. While leaders from Kettering Health (KH), the college, and community were present to honor the new president, the majority of those in the building were students eager to know more about Dr. Mitchell, who began her role Aug. 11, 2025.

Dr. Mitchell arrives with remarkable experience in healthcare education, academic leadership, and strategic collaboration. Before Kettering College, she held the role of chief learning officer for AdventHealth.

The ceremony had all of the official actions of an inauguration, but it played more like a celebration of the exceptionality of Dr. Mitchell, who follows Dr. Nate R. Brandstater (2014-’25) in stepping into the role of the eighth president of the college.

Greetings were delivered by new teammates, while words of affirmation came from family, a former colleague and Dr. Mitchell’s mentor, Becky Cook Kendall, the retired executive director of the Rockford Regional Health Council in Illinois.

Dr. Mitchell’s presidential address followed an investiture and presentation of Chain of office, as well as a charge leveled from Adam Maycock, the president of KH Main Campus.

“My commitment is to help others achieve their academic and professional goals,” Dr. Mitchell said. “That’s my whole thing. In every role I have served in, my first priority has always been how we can help others accomplish their goals.”

The inauguration is available in its entirety on the Kettering College YouTube channel.