The head of Southern Maine Community College will step down Aug. 1 to take a job as president of St. Joseph’s College of Maine.

Joe Cassidy served as SMCC president for six years.

“Joe has been an exceptionally engaged and intentional leader at our colleges, and we are sad to see him go,” Joyce Maker, chair of the Maine Community College System Board of Trustees, said in a statement.

A national search for a new president will begin immediately and an interim president will be appointed until the position is filled, the system said in a news release.

Cassidy began his career at Washington County Community College as a faculty member, is a former mayor of Calais and served as president of WCCC for five years.

“I know I step away from SMCC leaving it in the very capable hands of its world-class leaders, teachers, and staff members,” he said in a statement.

The system listed several “key accomplishments” under Cassidy’s tenure, including expanding workforce training programs, developing a Brunswick campus, leading the college through the COVID-19 pandemic and adding programs to address workforce needs.

“Joe has become a trusted colleague and a good friend,” David Daigler, community college system president said. “His calm, open style, warmth and humility are the characteristics that made him the right kind of leader for the college and helped us all weather the pandemic with agility and fortitude.”