Profile of the Next President of Oregon Coast Community College

As the leader of the College, the President must establish a relationship of trust with students, employees, and community members, cultivating a culture of respect, transparency, accountability, support, and confidence. A people-first leader, the successful candidate will bring strong emotional intelligence and intercultural competency, the ability to meet people where they are, experience leading in a rural community, and skill and nuance in advancing a culture of inclusive excellence. As leader of a small rural college, the next President must also be prepared for “hands-on” leadership working with a lean and effective administrative team.

President and Board Chair greet graduate
Characteristics of the Next President
  • An enthusiastic communicator of the vision and potential of OCCC.
  • Student centered, demonstrating deep commitment to understanding and responding to conditions impacting student life.
  • Employee centered, dedicated to fostering a positive campus culture appreciative of employees as the heart of the organization
  • A collaborative leader who leads individuals and teams with integrity and transparency, capable of making difficult decisions to the satisfaction of key constituents on campus and in the community
  • Culturally adept, able to connect across backgrounds, generations, and individual circumstances and experiences.
  • Prioritizes college values and policies in support of equity, social justice, diversity, and academic excellence.
  • Fiscally-savvy. Demonstrated experience managing the resources of a college and an understanding of the funding mechanisms of Oregon community colleges with the capacity to guide college resource allocation and student-centered planning.
  • A leader who is highly visible and engaged on campus and in the community, who is accessible, approachable, open-minded, and who listens to students, community members, and employees (faculty, staff, and administration).
Education & Experience of the Next President

Minimum Qualifications: A candidate must possess the following in order to be considered for the OCCC presidency:

  • Broad and increasingly responsible leadership experience within Oregon.
  • A Master’s Degree
  • Deep knowledge and experience in three or more of the following:
    • Academic Affairs
    • Student Affairs
    • Fiscal Management and the Oregon CCSF
    • Information Technology
    • Institutional Effectiveness
  • Experience successfully leading within an environment of participatory governance and proven efficacy working with a governing board

Preferred Qualifications: The Board of Education seeks candidates with some set of the following qualifications: 

  • A Doctorate Degree
  • Experience in rural-serving higher education institution
  • Experience with Collective Bargaining environment and processes
  • Success in augmenting funding supports, including development, fundraising, or obtaining large-scale grants
  • Experience with bonding as a facility funding source, and associated development of facilities, including planning, remodel, construction, and space management
  • Success in actively building and maintaining cross-sector collaborations such as those with industry, k-12, universities and city and local government.
Board Expectations

The Board expects the next President to accomplish these things over the next 3-5 years:

  • Lead and implement effective cycles of Strategic Planning.
    • Implement the 2022-2028 Strategic Plan. Lead the college in implementing long-range planning that will advance the five Strategic Priorities of the plan.
    • Lead development of subsequent Strategic Plan.
  • Connect with and inspire students and staff. Demonstrate commitment to Students at the Center (Strategic Priority 1). Build consensus to advance student success through consultation, collaboration, and teamwork, understanding the role of faculty, administrators, classified professionals, and students in college decision-making.
  • Provide programmatic leadership within and external to the college, as OCCC continues to grow in Careers Built Here (Strategic Priority 2) and First Choice, Best Choice (Strategic Priority 4).
  • Continue and enhance OCCC’s progress in regional accreditation through NWCCU. The next President will prioritize a strong outcome for OCCC’s reaccreditation reviews in 2025 and 2026. They will affirm and be prepared to act, to ensure personal and institutional accountability based on data, evaluation, and assessment.
  • Bond Program vision, leadership & implementation. OCCC placed a ballot measure before the voters in May 2024 for a $33 million general obligation bond. Proceeds would build the Oregon Coast Advanced Technology and Trades Center, and revitalize the existing College buildings, supporting Sharks Make Their Marks (Strategic Priority 5). When the Ballot measure passes, the President will lead community engagement for the design phase and lead the building and program development.
  • Sustain and expand strong community & regional partnerships (Strategic Priorities 2, 3 and 5). Continue and build new partnerships with the local school district (LCSD), business, industry, nonprofit, government, and educational organizations, as well as individual donors to increase educational opportunities for our students and local communities.
  • Guide college through the multi-year Budget Alignment Process. OCCC must evolve its organizational design and workforce to better align with the College’s enrollment of approximately 460 FTE, and the funding generated, as envisioned by Resourced and Ready (Strategic Priority 3).
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