The President’s checklist

As the end of the school year approaches, Debbie Derr paused to look back on the standout memories from her first year as Mt. Hood president – including one that hasn’t happened quite yet.

“Commencement is always a very important time of the year. As you work in community colleges, you realize that’s why we’re here, that’s what we’re all about,” she said.

As Mt. Hood’s newly named president last spring, Derr attended the commencement ceremony, but this year, “I get to be the emcee, be the individual who shakes hands, and welcomes students to their now-alumni status,” she said.

Other top memories for 2013-14 include the convocation at the beginning of Fall Term, working with ASG leaders and “reconnecting with the community and meeting many, many new people, but also having the opportunity to connect with old friends and supporters of Mt. Hood,” she said.

Derr has enjoyed her interactions with Laura Aguon and Eduardo Ortiz, ASG president and vice president, she said.

There are more highlights of her return to MHCC, where she previously worked on the administrative team from 1987 to 2002.

“(One that) I’m most grateful for is the opening of the Diversity (Resource) Center and the reality that that dream never died,” Derr said. “The fact that when I was here before, we had worked so hard to bring a Diversity Center… to actually come back and have that opportunity to cut the ribbon and being a part of that dream come true, that’s another thing that was a highlight of my year at Mt. Hood.”

On the other hand, she said her biggest challenge this year was, and is, dealing with the ongoing budget struggle. Specifically, “working together to be able to continue to mitigate (a) high tuition increase but also recognize the fact that we had to make some reductions and that we lost some important people here,” she said. Recent budget-tightening included the elimination of 16 nonteaching positions, including layoff of eight employees. “That was challenging, that was difficult.”

Derr continued, “It’s not difficult to address budget concerns… what’s difficult is whenever you have to eliminate positions and recognize the impact that you have on staff and their families. That’s the worst.”

Looking forward, she emphasized the importance of “finding out what is core to what we do” at Mt. Hood and more focus on reconfiguring the positions and responsibilities of MHCC employees.

Her own goals for the academic year have not been completed, as they were more long-term goals, she said. She plans to set specific goals instead of over-arching goals for next school year.

“It isn’t over. I think that’s the piece that people recognize — there’s going to be continual ongoing change for the institution,” she said. The completion of the new MHCC strategic plan during Fall Term will help guide her goals, she said.

Top ongoing goals remain student success and (degree/certification) completion, financial stability, community engagement and the passage of a general obligation bond, she said.

Program cuts are not on the radar for Derr. “We have not looked at that at all, quite frankly,” she said. “We’ve been looking at the possibility of needing to develop some new programs. We have to look at continuing to provide a unique footprint for the college” and new programs could be part of that identity, she said.

“The breadth of the programs that we have here is important to our students,” she said. She said she could foresee expanding or re-engineering technical and career education.

Although there may be concerns over the future of MHCC, Derr isn’t worried, she said.

“For me, I’m not uncertain about the future of the college. I am very positive about the future of the college and very excited about moving this institution forward,” she said.