Lisa Skari is chosen as new President

Starting Summer Term 2018, Skari will take over for Derr

On March 27, the MHCC District board of education met in a special session, then announced its decision of who will be the next president of Mt. Hood, succeeding five-year leader Debbie Derr, who is retiring.

Lisa Skari from Highline College in Des Moines, Washington – that’s just south of Seattle – will start during the summer. She started as an instructor at Highline college and eventually worked her way up to vice president.

She worked to transform Highline from an “elitist college” (in her description) with a majority white population to a place deeply involved in its surrounding community, with a diverse staff to serve a student body that’s about 78 percent non-white.

During her open forum appearance (among the five finalists up for the job) at Mt. Hood before Spring Break, Skari talked a bit about her leadership style. She is collaborative and includes her staff in all deliberation processes, she said. She take responsibility when needed and gives credit wherever it’s due, she added.

Reaction from student, faculty and staff leaders to the announcement was positive.

“I’m pleased with the choice that the board made,” said Nathan Skarphol, vice president of Mt. Hood’s ASG (Associated Student Government). “Looking at how committed to Highline she was, I think that’s something that’s really exciting for us because we’ll have a president who we know will be committed to the organization and will care about what goes on at Mt. Hood.”

Marilyn Pitts, Mt. Hood’s part-time faculty association president, said that with Derr’s retirement, her successor “will have some big shoes to fill.

“I noticed that (Skari) has had some experience as an adjunct professor,” Pitts said. “Hopefully, that experience has given her some insights into the work life of a part-time instructor. I’m looking forward to working with her.”

Writing instructor Cheryl Johnson, full-time faculty association president, said that “MHCC is in need of a strong leader who will work to build consensus and support for initiatives across all the major stakeholders of the college.

“To that end, I hope that (Skari) will engage in a ‘listening tour’ when she arrives on campus and continue work to build on work that has already been started so we don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” Johnson said.

Classified Association President Kim Sharer said the new college president should start engaging with the internal college community as soon as possible.

“Start here first to get to know us and our strengths and weaknesses,” suggested Sharer. “Then build upon our strengths, so we can tell that story to the external community, so they understand who we are, and that we are here to help serve our community.”

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