Bob Coen

Current MHCC District board member Bob Coen is running for another term because he said he felt that he has more to contribute. He wants to stay on the board so that there would be stability, since at least two positions will be filled with new members.

Coen’s role as a parent and community member provide a background different from most of his peers on the board.

“Primarily, I come from the business sector,” he said. Having a different background than other board members is “predominately the distinguishing factor.”

Rising tuition and fees are among Coen’s greatest concerns, he said.

“Community college is meant to be accessible, affordable, and I think we’re getting to a phase for a lot of different reasons that isn’t allowing it to be as approachable as it was always intended to be.”

To help relieve some of the financial challenges for students, Coen said that passing a general obligation bond would help.

“Another simple answer would be to continue to refine our cost structure. Right now (we) have four different (employee) unions,” and it is expensive to negotiate with each one, he said. “The outcomes of that on all sides are ultimately what the cost of tuition is.”

With the aging population, continuing to pay retirement dues and fund health insurance benefits also poses a challenge. “With the increasing costs, it’s just hard to manage that without addressing tuition at the same time,” said Coen. “I’m hopeful we can find other funding alternatives, grants, (and) bonding… to offset some of those (costs).”

His involvement in the hiring of President Debbie Derr is one his main accomplishments, he said. “I think she’s a long-term solution, not a short-term solution. I think her presence and experience – her motivation is exceptional, and so I’m definitely most pleased at that decision we made to hire her.”

To help increase student enrollment at Mt. Hood, Coen listed three goals. “If we create an environment that’s compelling… that’s first and foremost. Secondly, if we can continue to make the education affordable and accessible to our entire district population, that would be another point

of consideration. The third thing, I think we need to market to our successes,” he said.

Regarding community outreach, Coen said there is more to be done, but “I think we’re pretty highly regarded as it stands today, and I only see that being upward bound,” he said. “In a good economy it further highlights health, not only for our students, but also for business that falls within our area.”