Dr. Christopher M. Reber has devoted his entire career to public higher education. On July 1, 2018, he became the eighth president of Hudson County Community College (HCCC) in Jersey City, Union City, and Secaucus, New Jersey. Located in one of the most densely populated and diverse areas of the United States, HCCC serves more than 24,000 credit and noncredit students and 1,000 employees annually on three urban campuses near New York City.
Dr. Reber is leading and supporting the College’s engagement in local, regional and national partnerships that support transformative, life-changing opportunities for students and the community. He is committed to transparency and the full participation of students, faculty, staff and community members in the life of the College.
Dr. Reber continues to lead for excellence and outcomes that have attracted local, statewide and national recognition. Last fall, Insight Into Academia Magazine named him a 2026 Trailblazer in Higher Education. The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) named him Community College CEO of the Year in 2024 and the New Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA) named him NJBIA Executive of the Year in 2025. HCCC received the Bellwether Legacy Award in 2024 for the College’s Hudson Scholars student retention and completion model that is a central outcome of his leadership and support for student success.
Dr. Reber has led the development of the Hudson County Community College 2024-29 Strategic Plan. Entitled “The Community’s College: Embracing Our History, Shaping Our Future,” the plan is focused on HCCC’s mission to provide its diverse communities with inclusive, high-quality educational programs and services that promote student success and upward social and economic mobility. The College’s values are anchored to its growing culture of care, which has resulted in students coining the phrase, “Hudson is Home!,” the College’s tagline.
Prior to arriving at HCCC, Dr. Reber served as president of Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) near Pittsburgh, PA. Earlier in his career, Dr. Reber served as Executive Dean and a member of the Cabinet at Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Reber’s career also includes 18 years at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, where he served as the Chief Student Affairs Officer, Chief Advancement and University Relations Officer, and taught at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Dr. Reber holds a bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College, a master’s degree from Bowling Green State University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. He also holds a post-graduate certificate from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.
Dr. Reber lives in Kearny, New Jersey, with his husband, Kerry Stetler and their two Boston Terriers, Greta and Gilda. He is the father of Jonathan Reber, 29, an avid fly fisherman living in Colorado and pursuing a degree in automative technology at Front Range Community College; and Katherine Reber, 27, a recent graduate of University of Cambridge (UK) and Kenyon College, who is currently pursuing doctoral study in English at Duke University.