Dr. Mary Catherine Georgas Flath has spent her life answering a calling to teach, guide and encourage others. It’s a quest that has taken her from northwest Indiana to South Carolina and, finally, to Ashland, where she has shaped generations of community college students.
Flath was born and raised in Crown Point, Indiana, about 40 minutes from Chicago. She is the fifth of six children and grew up in a Catholic household, attending Catholic schools throughout her education except for high school, where her father served as principal. She graduated from Crown Point High School in 1980 and went on to attend Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1984 and married shortly before moving to Charleston, South Carolina, where her husband, Al Flath, was stationed while serving as a naval officer.
From 1984 to 1987, Flath began working as a research assistant at the Medical University of South Carolina. It was there her mentors encouraged her to pursue a Ph. D. — advice she took to heart. Rather than pursuing a master’s degree first, she entered straight into a doctoral program and earned her Ph.D. in pathology and laboratory medicine from the Medical University of South Carolina. After four years of intense study, Flath completed this monumental achievement in September 1991, an almost unheard-of timeline. And, because of her hard work and tenacity, this achievement distinguished her as a top, elite high-achiever among the already high-achieving elite. “I always knew I would teach in some capacity,” Flath said.
After earning her doctorate, Flath was asked by a faculty member at the University of South Carolina to take over a sophomore-level physical biochemistry course. She began teaching the class during the spring of 1991, and it was there she discovered her undying love for the classroom.
Despite not being the professor of record, Flath received exceptional student evaluations and was ultimately ranked the top professor in the chemistry department at the University of South Carolina. In the fall of 1992, Flath accepted a teaching position at Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College, followed by a year at Midlands Technical College in Columbia. “At OCTC, I had a teaching load like you couldn’t imagine, but I felt like I was on vacation and I’ve been teaching ever since,” Flath said joyfully.
Then, in March 1994, her husband’s job transferred the family to Ashland. Their son Allen had been born the previous November. “I wouldn’t be in Ashland if it wasn’t for Al,” Flath said. “We made such a great team.” Shortly after arriving in Ashland, Flath applied for an adjunct teaching position at Ashland Community College where she began teaching anatomy and physiology in the fall of 1994. Then, in spring of 1995, she was hired full time. For more than three decades, Flath has taught anatomy and physiology, animal biology and introductory health sciences. She also facilitated a course at Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital and later at UK King’s Daughters, where she continues to facilitate Health Care Communication.
Flath remains deeply involved in the community. She previously served on the board of directors for Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital and now serves on the board of directors for the Continuing the Legacy Foundation, which evolved from OLBH. For 17 of the past 19 years, she has been president of Delta Kappa Gamma’s Epsilon Chapter, a prominent society for women educators.
At ACTC, Flath represents faculty on the Community & Technical College Foundation of Ashland Inc. She also chairs the ACTC golf scramble fundraiser, which supports student scholarships. The 12th annual event in 2025 raised $26,515. Many former students, including several who took her classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, regularly return to volunteer, tutor and support her efforts. Flath’s teaching excellence has earned her widespread recognition. In 2005, she delivered a speech after receiving a national faculty award from the Association of Community College Trustees in Seattle. She has won the Gussler Family Endowed Chair Award in math and science five times, along with multiple National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development excellence awards, including national recognition in Austin, Texas, where she also gave a speech.
In 2019, Flath was inducted into the Crown Point High School Alumni Association Hall of Fame and was invited to speak at the ceremony. Most recently, in 2023, she was honored as ACTC’s May “Pathfinder,” a distinction given to those who inspire future generations of students to believe they, too, can find their path to success at the college. Outside the classroom, Flath enjoys cooking, entertaining, exercising and reading. She has published a textbook supplement, “Detailed Lecture Outline,” to accompany “Hole’s Human Anatomy and Physiology” by McGraw-Hill, and she has self-published two seasonal cookbooks, “Mary Cat’s Cuisine,” for family and friends.
“I want my students to succeed in the classroom, but I also want them to succeed in life,” she said. “From day one, they know when their final exam will be and that I want all of us to be together on their last day. I am their biggest cheerleader!” she said. And, to top it off, Flath always caters a meal for her students on the final day of class. Following the recent passing of her husband Al in January 2024, Flath continues to honor the life they built together in Ashland, the community she says God placed her in for a reason.